Usain Bolt claims 100m gold at World Championships

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Usain Bolt retained his World Championship 100m crown by edging out Justin Gatlin in Beijing

Usain Bolt retained his World Championship 100m crown by edging out Justin Gatlin in Beijing on Sunday.

The Jamaican produced a season best time of 9.79 – just 0.01 quicker than his American counterpart – to secure his ninth World Championship gold medal.

Gatlin appeared to be on his way to what would have been a hugely unpopular victory given his doping past, but in the last couple of metres Bolt caught him up, and took a dramatic gold right on the line by the narrowest possible margin.

Usain Bolt (right) overhauled Justin Gatlin (left) late in the race

Canada's Andre de Grasse and America's Trayvon Bromell crossed the line together in third place in a time of 9.92.

Bolt, the reigning Olympic champion has now not been beaten in the 100m or 200m in six major global championships going back to 2007, although he was disqualified from the shorter race at the Deagu World Championships in 2011 after a false start.

The 29-year-old will now turn his attentions to completing successive World Championship sprint sweeps in Beijing – the site of his breakthrough triumph at the 2008 Olympics – with the 200m final on Thursday.      

Bolt celebrated his gold medal in trademark style

"It definitely means a lot as I have been struggling all season and it took me a while to figure out what was the problem and it's all about getting it together, so I am happy," Bolt told the BBC. 

A Gatlin win in its blue-riband event was the result athletics feared. The 33-year-old has returned to the sport having previously served two bans for doping.

Gatlin (left) took silver with Trayvon Bromell (right) clinching a share of bronze

Bolt had played down the battle between himself and Gatlin ahead of the final, and did so again following his victory. 

When asked about the importance of his victory to the sport of athletics, Bolt added: "For me I understand why, but that being said I wanted to do it for myself also, so it was a big deal."

Meanwhile, Gatlin expressed his frustration at being billed as the villain in the build-up to the race as a result of his previous suspensions. 

"I respect what IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) and WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) has done, and USADA (US Anti-Doping Agency), how they uphold the rules, and the decisions that they make," said Gatlin. 

"It happened ten years ago. I wish everybody would get over it. Let people do their jobs. I came out to run."