American sprinter Justin Gatlin handed world record holder Usain Bolt a narrow defeat in the 100 metre race at the Golden Gala meet on Thursday.
Gatlin clocked 9.94 seconds and Bolt crossed second in 9.95.
It was Bolt’s first significant loss since he was disqualified for a false start at the 2011 world championships in Daegu, South Korea.
“I had a nice start. That was ridiculous a perfect start and then I just cropped off,” Bolt said. “I think it was this perfect start that threw my game off. I have to do more strength work, I guess. I think it needs just some time to get it all back together. At the end it was just not me.”
“At least I got under 10 seconds,” Bolt said. “My legs did not feel the energy. At 50 metres I had some problems, but the rest of the race was not bad.”
Jimmy Vicaut of France finished third in 10.02.
