Justin Gatlin of the U.S. after winning the race. (Source: Reuters)
Justin Gatlin won the 100metres final on Sunday in 9.92 seconds after beating Usain Bolt into third place. However, more than cheers, he was awarded by booes from the crowd in response to two bans for drugs offences.
Gatlin said that he was sad that his boos were louder than cheers. “It’s kinda sad that my boos were louder than some of the others’ cheers. I wanted to keep it classy and at the end of the race bend the knee to Usain. Pay homage to him. This night is still a magical night for track and field and for Usain Bolt; he’s done so much in his career,” he said.
“I wasn’t booed in 2010, 2011 or 2012 – or 13, 14 or 15 – and now I am. I’m just sitting up here, I’m a runner, I’m back in the sport, I’ve done my time, I’ve done community service. I’ve talked to kids, I inspire kids – that’s all I can do,” the American added.
“Society does that with people who make mistakes and I hope track and field can understand that too.”
Bolt, who finished third behind American Christian Coleman, agreed. “I wasn’t focused on the boos, I wasn’t thinking about whether my win tonight was a disaster for the sport,” he said.
“I really did it for my fans, my support staff, my countrymen, the people who really believe in me, even when I didn’t believe in myself,” he added. “For the first time I was thinking about them not myself and it took the pressure off.”
