Usain Bolt rockets to third Olympic gold in 100m, US' Gatlin gets silver

RIO DE JANEIRO (WWBT) - In the blink of an eye, the world's fastest man Usain Bolt earned his third gold medal in the men's 100m Sunday night, besting American Justin Gatlin in the closing stages of the race.

Sunday night, Bolt was working to become the first man to win three Olympic titles in the men's 100m sprint, but he faced tough competition from Gatlin, who earned a gold medal in the event during the 2004 Athens Olympic games.

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During the heat rounds, Gatlin set the fastest time among his competitors, logging a time of 10.01 seconds. Bolt was not far behind, missing first place by six-hundredths of a second, finishing fourth out of the 70 runners in the event.

Americans Trayvon Bromell finished 12th, while Marvin Bracy finished 15th in the preliminary rounds.

Since London, Bolt has been beaten just once in the 100m sprint, which was by the legs of Gatlin in 2014.

In the finals, Gatlin held the lead for a time, but Bolt found a late burst of speed, propelling him to the lead in the final seconds of the race.

The results of the Men's 100m final are as follows: