RIO DE JANEIRO: Even a lumbering start couldn’t slow down the world’s fastest man.

Usain Bolt became the first person to win three straight Olympic 100m titles, blowing down the straightaway in 9.81 seconds at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Sunday.

The Jamaican great defeated American rival Justin Gatlin by 0.08 seconds for his seventh Olympic gold medal. Andre de Grasse of Canada won the bronze.

Bolt started pulling away from Gatlin with about 30 metres left.

His electrifying kick capped a day of high drama that included Wayde van Niekerk smashing Michael Johnson’s long-standing 400m record and Justin Rose winning the first Olympic golfing gold medal in 112 years with a two-stroke win over British Open champion Henrik Stenson.

An emotional Andy Murray won his second straight men’s singles tennis gold as Britain reeled in five gold medals in one day and American teen sensation Simone Biles added a third gold in gymnastics, capturing the women’s vault title.

Russian Aliya Mustafina captured the asymmetric bars gold for a second successive Olympics, Colombia’s world champion Caterine Ibarguen won the women’s triple jump with a leap of 15.17m and France beat Italy 45-31 to win the men’s team epee competition.

Bolt added the Rio gold medal to the ones he won in Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012 and the victory set the Jamaican showman off on his quest to complete the ‘triple triple’ — 100m, 200m and 4x100m gold medals at three consecutive Olympics.

After kicking off his gold spikes, he flashed a smile and his signature pose, the Jamaican flag draping from his shoulders.

“Somebody said I can become immortal. Two more medals to go and I can sign off. Immortal,” said Bolt.

Although way short of his 9.58sec world record, Bolt was happy with the performance but admitted he had been “shocked” at booing from the crowd directed at Gatlin, who has twiced been banned for doping.

He started slowly but reeled in Gatlin, thumping his chest as he crossed the line.

“I didn’t go so fast but I’m so happy I won,” he said.

TRACK MASSACRE

Minutes earlier, jaws dropped as van Niekerk timed a lightning 43.03sec in the 400m, breaking Johnson’s 17-year-old record set in 1999.

“I have never seen anything like that,” Johnson told the BBC. “That was a massacre by Van Niekerk. This young man has done something truly special.”

Wimbledon champion Murray beat Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina in a marathon final for his second consecutive Olympic singles tennis gold medal.

His 7-5, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 victory halted the resurgent run of the 141st-ranked del Potro, who knocked off No 1 Novak Djokovic in the first round and No 3 Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals.

“Today was a very up and down match, very stressful... I’m just glad I managed to get through it,” said Murray.

Kei Nishikori gave Japan their first Olympic tennis medal in 86 years, overcoming a mid-match lull to beat 2008 champion Nadal for the bronze in men’s singles. Nadal leaves Brazil with a gold medal from men’s doubles for Spain.

Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Jack Sock recovered after dropping the first set to beat Venus Williams and Rajeev Ram 6-7 (3-7), 6-1, 10-7 to win gold in the all-American mixed doubles tennis final.

Britain’s Rose carded a final round four-under par 67 to finish with a total of 16 under-par 268 to beat Stenson by two strokes. Matt Kuchar of the United States finished one stroke behind Sweden’s Stenson to win bronze.

BRITISH SURGE

Adding to Britain’s Sunday Olympic medal surge was Max Whitlock who won the men’s floor exercise to become Britain’s first Olympic gymnastics champion. He won a second gold in the pommel horse.

Cyclist Jason Kenny joined the “five gold medal club” retaining his Olympic sprint title, added to his three team sprint golds.

France’s Charline Picon clinched gold in the women’s RS:X after she finished second in the medal race. Chen Peina of China won silver, while Russian Stefaniya Elfutina won bronze.

Earlier, Dorian van Rijsselberghe of Netherlands clinched the first sailing gold of the Games, winning the men’s RS:X. Nick Dempsey of Britain finished second, while Pierre Le Coq of France won bronze.

Uzbekistan’s Hasanboy Dusmatov beat Colom­bia’s Yurberjen Martinez on a unanimous points decision in the men’s light-flyweight category to win the first gold medal of the boxing competition.

China’s Meng Suping won the women’s +75kg weightlifting while her compatriot Shi Tingmao claimed gold in the women’s 3m springboard final.

In wrestling, Cuba’s Ismael Borrero Molina took the men’s 59kg gold while Roman Vlasov of Russia defended his title in the men’s 75kg category.

Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2016