Bolt Beats Gatlin Again in 200m World Championships Final

Usain Bolt secured a World Championships double over American sprinter Justin Gatlin after he won the 200m gold in Beijing on Thursday.

The Jamaican sprinter, 29, claimed his fourth consecutive world 200m title in 19.55 seconds, the world's fastest time this year. The victory means Bolt becomes a 10-time World Championship gold medallist and has won 11 of the last 12 individual Olympic and world sprint titles since the Beijing 2008 Olympics, according to AFP.

The rivalry between Bolt and Gatlin, 33, had been much-hyped at this year's Beijing World Championships. Gatlin, who has served two doping bans totalling five years, vowed to boycott British media in general and the BBC in particular as his agent, Renaldo Nehemiah, claimed that coverage of the Gatlin-Bolt rivalry was biased and that "every characterisation [of Gatlin] is solely about doping and vilifying him." The duel had been billed as a battle for the soul of athletics and, upon Bolt's narrow victory in the 100m final on Sunday, BBC commentator Steve Cram said: "He's saved his title, he's saved his reputation—he may have even saved his sport."

The issue of doping was even higher on the agenda after recent allegations made by The Sunday Times and German broadcaster ARD that the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) failed to follow up on suspicious blood tests from athletes, which were rejected by the IAAF as "sensationalist and confusing."

Bolt, who faced six weeks out of competition this season with pelvic joint pain, quashed any doubts about his ability by easing to victory ahead of Gatlin, who clocked 19.74 seconds, with South African Anaso Jobodwana taking bronze in a national record time of 19.87 seconds. Great Britain's Zharnel Hughes finished in an impressive fifth place with a personal best of 20.02 seconds. "There was never a doubt that I would win this one. I'm number one," Bolt told BBC Sport after his victory. The Jamaican will now look to complete a golden treble with victory in the 4x100m relay.

Elsewhere, British athletes had a mixed day. Three British athletes qualified for the women's long jump final, including Lorraine Ugen, who recorded the second-longest jump in qualifying with a 6.91m leap. British teenager Dina Asher-Smith, 19, qualified for the 200m final with a personal best of 22.13, while Shelayna Oskan-Clarke made it into the 800m final, also with a personal best. However, London 2012 silver medallist and defending world champion Christine Ohuruogu, 31, finished last in the 400m final.

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Conor is a staff writer for Newsweek covering Africa, with a focus on Nigeria, security and conflict.

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