Justin Gatlin beats Usain Bolt in 100 metres at Rome Golden Gala
American sprinter Justin Gatlin handed world-record holder Usain Bolt the slenderest of defeats in the 100 metres.
Last Updated: 06/06/13 11:40pm
The 31-year-old New Yorker crossed the finish ahead of the Jamaican, who won three gold medals at London 2012, by one hundreth of second in Italy on Thursday.
Gatlin clocked 9.94 seconds, and Bolt crossed second in 9.95 in Rome.
It marked Bolt's first significant loss since he was disqualified for a false start at the 2011 world championships in Daegu, South Korea. He was also beaten by Tyson Gay in Stockholm in 2010.
Gatlin has won all five of his 100m races this year and is shaping up as a serious threat to Bolt at world championships in August in Moscow.
Bolt, the six-time Olympic champion, also struggled in his only other 100 this year. He narrowly won in a relatively slow 10.09s in the Cayman Islands last month.
British interest
Shara Proctor produced the best performance of the British athletes taking part in Italy tonight as she earned third in the long jump. The 24-year-old recorded a season-best distance of 6.91 metres in the final round, with reigning Olympic champion Brittney Reese of America taking the win with 6.99m.
Proctor was the only Briton to claim a podium place, with world silver medallist Hannah England taking fourth in a strong 1,500m women's field after clocking 4:03.91 - Lisa Dobriskey coming home 10th - while Nigel Levine also finished fourth in the men's 400m.
Levine (45.64) came home just ahead of team-mate Michael Bingham (45.69) with Martyn Rooney (46.31) finishing ninth. Former Olympic champion LaShawn Merritt took the win in 44.96.
In the 400m hurdles, reigning world champion Dai Greene began his season with fifth in a time of 48.81. American Johnny Dutch, who boasts the fastest time in the world this year, won in 48.31.
Former world champion Phillips Idowu, also making his Diamond League debut this year, finished seventh in the triple jump with a season's best 16.44 with Christian Taylor of the United States emerging victorious with 17.08.
Also, Eilish McColgan was 10th in the 3,000m steeplechase, although her time of 9:41.50 saw her secure the IAAF World Championship A qualifying standard, while Steve Lewis failed to record a height in the pole vault after failing three times at 5.50m.
