Olympics Rio 2016: Usain Bolt claims 200m gold to move one step away from historic 'triple triple'

ByBen Snowball

Updated 19/08/2016 at 06:27 GMT

Usain Bolt’s ‘triple triple’ quest is one win away from fruition after a dominant victory over 200 metres at Rio 2016 – his last individual appearance at the Olympic Games.

The Jamaican, who will target an unprecedented ninth sprint gold in the 4x100m relay on Friday, clocked 19.78 seconds to finish well clear of the field.

Canada’s Andre de Grasse took silver in 20.02s, with France’s Christophe Lemaitre narrowly pipping Great Britain’s Adam Gemili into bronze as both men posted 20.12s.

Bolt has already intimated he will not run the 200m at the 2017 World Championships in London, effectively ending his career over the distance.

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Usain Bolt (JAM) of Jamaica reacts as he finishes

Image credit: Reuters

Bolt tore around the bend as attention quickly switched to the clock, but the 29-year-old – just two days shy of his 30th birthday – looked heavy in the home straight and posted a mediocre time by his lofty standards.

"I wasn’t happy with the time," Bolt admitted to BBC Sport afterwards. "I’m getting older, I’m not as young and fresh.

"I’m excited that I got the gold medal. That’s the main thing."

Usain Bolt

Image credit: AFP

Meanwhile, Gemili was disconsolate after he missed a spot on the podium by three thousandths of a second.

The 22-year-old produced a fine run from lane two, but was unable to sneak ahead of Lemaitre as he finished an agonising fourth.

"I am heartbroken. I put so much into that run," he said.

"I lost my form at the end and to get so close at the end is heartbreaking. I am absolutely gutted."

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