2017 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 100 metres
The men's 100 metres at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics was held at the London Olympic Stadium on. This meet was announced as the last competition for Usain Bolt. The race was won by Justin Gatlin of the United States, ahead of Gatlin's team-mate Christian Coleman, with Usain Bolt finishing third.
Summary
of Jamaica was the fastest in the heats, and the only athlete to have gone under ten seconds in the round with a personal best of 9.99 seconds in the third heat. Japanese runner Abdul Hakim Sani Brown placed himself as a favorite and surprised many by beating Forte's teammate and 2011 World 100m Champion Yohan Blake, who was one of the four favored athletes to beat Usain Bolt, in the second heat. Bolt made his usual slow start, but quickly gained ground and won his heat in 10.07 seconds: his slowest time in the season.In the first semi-final, Justin Gatlin qualified but seemed to struggle, losing to Akani Simbine of South Africa. Both were favorites to dethrone Bolt. In the second semi-final, Yohan Blake barely held off the hometown favorite Reece Prescod, who had a sudden surge of speed in the last ten metres to take the automatic qualifying spot from Su Bingtian of China. Run into slight headwinds, the first two semis were unimpressive, slower than ten seconds. In the third semi-final, Christian Coleman surprised the world by beating Bolt with 9.97 to his 9.98, despite it being a semi-final; in doing so, he became the first man in four years to beat Bolt, the last being Gatlin by the same margin in an IAAF Diamond League event in Rome. Coleman rocketed out of the start, while Bolt lumbered. Bolt tried to make up the gap, but sensing he couldn't catch him, eased up at the finish. Bolt's time was still the second fastest in the semis.
In the final, Bolt was lined up in lane four, right next to his young rival Coleman. Gatlin lined up in lane eight, with Blake right next to him. At the gun, Coleman got the quickest reaction time, of 0.123, and Bolt with the second slowest in 0.183. Coleman continued with his usual fast start, with Bolt next to him lumbering behind by a metre in fourth expecting to make up ground on Jimmy Vicaut of France and Su Bingtian inside him. Meanwhile, the other half of the field seemed to struggle in the first 40 metres, but began to catch up with the pack afterwards. At that mark, Bolt began making up ground, first on Su, then on Vicaut. With every step, Bolt gained on his young rival, but as he got closer he began to tense up. Suddenly, with 15 metres to go, Gatlin in lane eight came out of nowhere and surged ahead of the two, securing his first world title since 2005 by 0.02 seconds. Gatlin's winning time of 9.92 seconds was the slowest World Championship winning time in the 100 metres since 2003, but was a new Masters world record, beating Kim Collins' 9.93 that he set the previous year. Coleman finished second in 9.94 seconds, while Bolt was third in 9.95 seconds, equaling his seasonal best that he set in Monaco.
Records
Before the competition records were as follows:| Record | Athlete | Date | Location | ||
| World | 9.58 | Usain Bolt | 16 Aug 2009 | Berlin, Germany | |
| Championship | 9.58 | Usain Bolt | 16 Aug 2009 | Berlin, Germany | |
| World leading | 9.82 | Christian Coleman | 7 Jun 2017 | Eugene, United States | |
| African | 9.85 | Olusoji Fasuba | Doha, Qatar | ||
| Asian | 9.91 | Femi Ogunode | 4 Jun 2015 | Wuhan, China | |
| Asian | 9.91 | Femi Ogunode | 22 Apr 2016 | Gainesville, United States | |
| NACAC | 9.58 | Usain Bolt | 16 Aug 2009 | Berlin, Germany | |
| South American | 10.00 | Robson da Silva | 22 Jul 1988 | Mexico City, Mexico | |
| European | 9.86 | Francis Obikwelu | 22 Aug 2004 | Athens, Greece | |
| European | 9.86 | Jimmy Vicaut | 4 Jul 2015 | Saint-Denis, France | |
| European | 9.86 | Jimmy Vicaut | 7 Jun 2016 | Montreuil, France | |
| Oceanian | 9.93 | Patrick Johnson | 5 May 2003 | Mito, Japan |
The following records were set at the competition:
| Record | Athlete | Date | ||
| Slovak | 10.15 | Ján Volko | 4 Aug 2017 | |
| World Masters M35 | 9.92 | Justin Gatlin | 5 Aug 2017 |
Qualification standard
The standard to qualify automatically for entry was 10.12.Schedule
The event schedule, in local time, was as follows:| Date | Time | Round |
| 4 August | 19:00 | Preliminary Round |
| 4 August | 20:20 | Heats |
| 5 August | 19:05 | Semi-finals |
| 5 August | 21:45 | Final |
Results
Preliminary round
The preliminary round took place on 4 August in four heats as follows:| Heat | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Start time | 19:05 | 19:10 | 19:16 | 19:23 |
| Wind | +1.4 | +1.1 | +0.9 | +0.7 |
| Photo finish |
The first three in each heat and the next two fastest qualified for the first round proper. The overall results were as follows:
| Rank | Heat | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 3 | 3 | Ján Volko | 10.15 | , NR | |
| 2 | 2 | 4 | Emre Zafer Barnes | 10.22 | ||
| 3 | 3 | 6 | Mario Burke | 10.22 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 8 | Abdullah Abkar Mohammed | 10.23 | , | |
| 5 | 4 | 3 | Ramon Gittens | 10.25 | ||
| 6 | 1 | 6 | Emmanuel Matadi | 10.27 | ||
| 7 | 4 | 5 | Joseph Millar | 10.29 | ||
| 8 | 4 | 6 | Warren Fraser | 10.30 | ||
| 9 | 1 | 3 | Brendon Rodney | 10.37 | ||
| 10 | 1 | 7 | Mark Odhiambo | 10.40 | ||
| 11 | 2 | 6 | Chavaughn Walsh | 10.44 | ||
| 12 | 2 | 2 | Hassan Saaid | 10.45 | ||
| 13 | 4 | 8 | Ambdoul Karim Riffayn | 10.59 | ||
| 14 | 4 | 7 | Jean Tarcicius Batambok | 10.71 | , | |
| 15 | 3 | 2 | Rolando Palacios | 10.73 | ||
| 16 | 3 | 7 | Bui Ba Hanh | 10.76 | ||
| 17 | 1 | 4 | Phearath Nget | 10.99 | ||
| 18 | 2 | 7 | Dylan Sicobo | 11.01 | ||
| 19 | 1 | 8 | Masbah Ahmmed | 11.08 | ||
| 20 | 3 | 4 | Said Gilani | 11.13 | ||
| 21 | 4 | 2 | Scott James Fiti | 11.23 | ||
| 22 | 3 | 5 | Paul Ma'unikeni | 11.31 | ||
| 23 | 1 | 2 | Mohamed Lamine Dansoko | 11.41 | ||
| 24 | 4 | 4 | Gwynn Uehara | 11.47 | ||
| 25 | 1 | 5 | Dysard Dageago | 11.60 | ||
| 26 | 2 | 8 | Jeki Lanki | 11.91 | ||
| 27 | 2 | 3 | Mobera Tonana | 11.91 | ||
| 28 | 2 | 5 | Ielu Tamoa | 12.12 |
Heats
The first round proper took place on 4 August in six heats as follows:| Heat | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| Start time | 20:20 | 20:27 | 20:35 | 20:43 | 20:51 | 21:01 |
| Wind | −0.1 | −0.6 | 0.0 | −0.2 | +0.9 | +0.3 |
| Photo finish |
The first three in each heat and the next six fastest qualified for the semi-finals. The overall results were as follows:
| Rank | Heat | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 3 | 4 | Julian Forte | 9.99 | , | |
| 2 | 1 | 9 | Christian Coleman | 10.01 | ||
| 3 | 3 | 6 | Ben Youssef Meïté | 10.02 | ||
| 4 | 4 | 4 | Su Bingtian | 10.03 | , | |
| 5 | 3 | 2 | Reece Prescod | 10.03 | , | |
| 6 | 2 | 3 | Abdul Hakim Sani Brown | 10.05 | , | |
| 6 | 5 | 5 | Justin Gatlin | 10.05 | ||
| 8 | 6 | 7 | Usain Bolt | 10.07 | ||
| 9 | 4 | 2 | Chijindu Ujah | 10.07 | ||
| 10 | 1 | 5 | Jak Ali Harvey | 10.13 | ||
| 10 | 6 | 4 | James Dasaolu | 10.13 | ||
| 12 | 2 | 9 | Yohan Blake | 10.13 | ||
| 12 | 4 | 9 | Christopher Belcher | 10.13 | ||
| 14 | 2 | 6 | Xie Zhenye | 10.13 | ||
| 15 | 6 | 3 | Jimmy Vicaut | 10.15 | ||
| 15 | 3 | 5 | Akani Simbine | 10.15 | ||
| 17 | 5 | 7 | Andrew Fisher | 10.19 | ||
| 17 | 6 | 6 | Shuhei Tada | 10.19 | ||
| 19 | 1 | 4 | Cejhae Greene | 10.21 | ||
| 20 | 4 | 3 | Asuka Cambridge | 10.21 | ||
| 21 | 2 | 7 | Emre Zafer Barnes | 10.22 | ||
| 22 | 1 | 3 | Emmanuel Matadi | 10.24 | ||
| 23 | 3 | 3 | Alex Wilson | 10.24 | ||
| 24 | 5 | 3 | Kim Kuk-young | 10.24 | ||
| 24 | 1 | 6 | Ramon Gittens | 10.24 | ||
| 26 | 1 | 7 | Julian Reus | 10.25 | ||
| 27 | 2 | 8 | Emmanuel Callender | 10.25 | ||
| 28 | 2 | 5 | Ján Volko | 10.25 | ||
| 29 | 5 | 2 | Keston Bledman | 10.26 | ||
| 30 | 5 | 6 | Gavin Smellie | 10.29 | ||
| 31 | 1 | 2 | Senoj-Jay Givans | 10.30 | ||
| 32 | 5 | 8 | Abdullah Abkar Mohammed | 10.31 | ||
| 33 | 4 | 5 | Joseph Millar | 10.31 | ||
| 34 | 6 | 9 | Hassan Taftian | 10.34 | ||
| 35 | 6 | 2 | Brendon Rodney | 10.36 | ||
| 36 | 4 | 8 | Mark Odhiambo | 10.37 | ||
| 37 | 2 | 4 | David Lima | 10.41 | ||
| 38 | 6 | 8 | Warren Fraser | 10.42 | ||
| 39 | 3 | 7 | Mario Burke | 10.42 | ||
| 40 | 3 | 8 | Hassan Saaid | 10.45 | ||
| 41 | 6 | 5 | Diego Palomeque | 10.51 | ||
| 42 | 4 | 6 | Jeremy Dodson | 10.52 | ||
| 43 | 2 | 2 | Ambdoul Karim Riffayn | 10.72 | ||
| 44 | 1 | 8 | Jean Tarcicius Batambok | 10.75 | ||
| 4 | 7 | Mosito Lehata | ||||
| 5 | 9 | Thando Roto | ||||
| 5 | 4 | Chavaughn Walsh | ||||
| 3 | 9 | Andre De Grasse |
Semi-finals
The semi-finals took place on 5 August in three heats as follows:| Heat | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Start time | 19:05 | 19:12 | 19:20 |
| Wind | −0.5 | −0.2 | +0.4 |
| Photo finish |
The first two in each heat and the next two fastest qualified for the final. The overall results were as follows:
| Rank | Heat | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 3 | 4 | Christian Coleman | 9.97 | ||
| 2 | 3 | 6 | Usain Bolt | 9.98 | ||
| 3 | 2 | 4 | Yohan Blake | 10.04 | ||
| 4 | 2 | 9 | Reece Prescod | 10.05 | ||
| 5 | 1 | 2 | Akani Simbine | 10.05 | ||
| 6 | 1 | 6 | Justin Gatlin | 10.09 | ||
| 7 | 3 | 8 | Jimmy Vicaut | 10.09 | ||
| 8 | 2 | 6 | Su Bingtian | 10.10 | ||
| 9 | 3 | 7 | Chijindu Ujah | 10.12 | ||
| 10 | 1 | 7 | Ben Youssef Meïté | 10.12 | ||
| 11 | 1 | 5 | Julian Forte | 10.13 | ||
| 12 | 2 | 7 | Jak Ali Harvey | 10.16 | ||
| 13 | 2 | 8 | Christopher Belcher | 10.20 | ||
| 14 | 2 | 2 | Emmanuel Matadi | 10.20 | ||
| 15 | 1 | 4 | James Dasaolu | 10.22 | ||
| 16 | 1 | 3 | Asuka Cambridge | 10.25 | ||
| 17 | 3 | 2 | Shuhei Tada | 10.26 | ||
| 18 | 3 | 3 | Emre Zafer Barnes | 10.27 | ||
| 19 | 2 | 5 | Abdul Hakim Sani Brown | 10.28 | ||
| 20 | 1 | 9 | Xie Zhenye | 10.28 | ||
| 21 | 2 | 3 | Alex Wilson | 10.30 | ||
| 22 | 3 | 5 | Andrew Fisher | 10.36 | ||
| 23 | 1 | 8 | Kim Kuk-young | 10.40 | ||
| 24 | 3 | 9 | Cejhae Greene | 10.64 |
Final
The final took place on 5 August at 21:46. The wind was −0.8 metres per second and the results were as follows :| Rank | Lane | Name | Nationality | Time | Reaction Time | Notes |
| 8 | Justin Gatlin | 9.92 | 0.138 | |||
| 5 | Christian Coleman | 9.94 | 0.123 | |||
| 4 | Usain Bolt | 9.95 | 0.183 | |||
| 4 | 7 | Yohan Blake | 9.99 | 0.137 | ||
| 5 | 6 | Akani Simbine | 10.01 | 0.141 | ||
| 6 | 3 | Jimmy Vicaut | 10.08 | 0.152 | ||
| 7 | 9 | Reece Prescod | 10.17 | 0.145 | ||
| 8 | 2 | Su Bingtian | 10.27 | 0.224 |
Controversy
Gatlin's win was highly unpopular among fans and those in the track and field community alike. Many in the stadium expressed shock, then outrage, that Gatlin spoiled Bolt's final 100 metre race. Criticism was quickly pointed on Gatlin's repeated history of doping, with many expressing doubt that a man of his age could run at such a high level without the use of doping. Gatlin himself honored Bolt by bowing to him and keeping a low profile allowing the Jamaican the spotlight.During the medal ceremony, Gatlin was booed by the crowd. Sebastian Coe, head of IAAF who also gave out the medals at the ceremony, caused further controversy by saying that Gatlin should have been banned for life much earlier in his career. The race and medal ceremony took place during the investigation of a large-scale doping program in Russia, and it was believed that the presence of athletes such as Gatlin weakened the case because of the apparent double standard of allowing repeated offenders from other nations to compete.
Bolt himself condemned the booing and negative reaction, saying that Gatlin had worked hard for his victory.