Usain Bolt showed his usual swagger, playing a little peekaboo with the camera at the start line as his name was announced, and when it came to the business of those nine and a bit seconds, it was business as usual for the greatest sprinter the sport has ever seen.
Bolt's greatness is that he is able to back that swagger up with performances, and after getting to a good start, so necessary, with the kind of form that Justin Gatlin was in, he held close to the American through the first 50m, before powering through in the final metres to keep a hold of his World Athletics Championships title, while showing once again, he just cannot be beaten -- injury or no injury, form or no form, when it comes to the big stage, there is absolutely no-one who can match him.
The anticipation was building as pictures showed the men warming up while the women's 1500 metres semifinals took place, and it was heightened as those nine athletes walked in to the stadium, with everyone's eyes on Bolt.
Before the introductions, some cheesy piano music was played live – they were trying to build up the drama, but really that wasn't necessary, with the stellar cast that was taking centre-stage -- and then came those intros, with Bolt ruling them all in that as well.
It was all about the start for Bolt – if he got off to a decent start, you knew he would have enough power to hold off Gatlin – looking to relive the glory of winning that epic 100m title in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the one that made him the superstar he is today.
A good start he got to as well and once the final 50 metres came along, in literally the blink of an eye, there was only going to be one winner, with Gatlin, the leading athlete in the 100 metres by a country mile this season, doing everything in his power to beat the unbeatable man.
In the end there was just a fraction of a second between Bolt, who finished with a time of 9.79 seconds, and Gatlin (9.80s), but that is all it takes in this blink-and-you-will-miss-it spectacle of spectacles.
Trayvon Bromell of the US and Andre De Grasse of Canada took home the bronze medal after the 20-year-olds finished with a time of 9.911 seconds. Not bad, considering the field also consisted of the likes of Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell.
Earlier, it might all have been a terrible anti-climax, had Bolt paid for a stumble in the semifinal, where he seemed to lose his balance a little at the start before recovering to qualify.
"Think I hit my foot too hard," Bolt said of that precarious start. "I'm not sure what happened, I just stumbled. It doesn't matter what lane I get, it's the 100 metres but I can't do that in the final."
It didn't matter what lane in the end, because when it came to the big time, there was no stopping the showstopper, who just seems to live for the big moments, with Gatlin's desperation to get ahead of Bolt in those final 10 metres, proving to be the difference, as he lost his balance and technique.
Results: 1. Usain Bolt (Jamaica, 9.79s), 2. Justin Gatlin (USA, 9.80s), 3. Trayvon Bromell (USA, 9.92s) and Andre De Grasse (Canada, 9.92s), 5. Mike Rodgers (USA, 9.94s), 6. Tyson Gay (USA, 10s), 7. Asafa Powell (Jamaica, 10s), 8. Jimmy Vicaut (France, 10s), 9. Bingtian Su (China, 10.06s).
