Usain Bolt strikes gold to retain his World Championship crown in 100m final to fend off challenge of drugs cheat Justin Gatlin

Reigning world and Olympic champion Usain Bolt won in 9.79 seconds in Beijing on Sunday
American sprinter Justin Gatlin was unbeaten in 28 races prior to the final but could not remain ahead
Gatlin finished a whisker behind on 9.80 with fellow American Trayvon Bromell in bronze finishing on 9.92

Published:
13:24 GMT, 23 August 2015

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Updated:
13:48 GMT, 23 August 2015

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Usain Bolt rode to the rescue of his beleaguered sport once again as he dashed Justin Gatlin’s hopes of 100 metres gold at the World Championships in Beijing.

The Jamaican lived up to his billing as the saviour of athletics as he held off the challenge of two-time drug cheat Gatlin to win in 9.79 seconds.

The 33-year-old American, the sport’s number one villain, especially in the wake of the doping scandals of recent weeks, had to settle for silver in 9.80secs.

Jamaican superstar Usain Bolt celebrates in the Bird’s Nest Arena having won the 100m final at the World Championships on Sunday

Bolt (centre) manages to duck and cross the line ahead of Gatlin (bottom) during the electric World Championships 100m final in China

Bolt poses for the cameras with a smile on his face having retained his World Championship 100m title in Beijing in a tight race

A Gatlin win in its blue-riband event was the result athletics feared and it looked likely after the semi-finals where Gatlin clocked 9.77s and Bolt only scraped a win after an awful start.

But the world record holder, the sport’s leading man, the self-styled legend, knows how to deliver when the pressure is really on.

This was his fastest time of the year and the win took his tally of.individual global titles to 10.

American Trayvon Bromell and Canada’s Andre de Grasse each took a bronze after posting the same time – 9.911.

‘It definitely means a lot, I’ve been struggling all season, so it means a lot to me,’ said an elated Bolt. ‘I understand why (it means so much to the sport) but I wanted to do it for myself also but yes it was a big deal.’