Usain Bolt wins the 100 meters and once again he made it look easy

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Usain Bolt Rio Final

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Usain Bolt won the men's 100 meters on Sunday night in Rio in convincing fashion, pulling away from the field to capture gold in 9.81 seconds and retain the title of "World's Fastest Man."

With the win, Bolt becomes the first sprinter in history to win gold in the 100 meters in three consecutive Olympics.

Bolt entered the Rio Olympics as something of a question mark, having dropped out of Jamaican Olympic qualifying five weeks before the Games with a nagging hamstring injury. But after being named to the Olympic team by the Jamaican track and field team, he has looked like his old self in Rio.

In the preliminary round of the 100 meters on Saturday, Bolt looked solid, practically jogging into the semifinal despite an average start. Then, in the semifinal earlier on Sunday night, he again cruised to victory, flashing a toothy smile and looking around at his competitors as he effortlessly flew across the line.

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In the final, Bolt got off to a slow start, while American Justin Gatlin looked to be closing in a surprise gold. But then Bolt turned into his top gear, passing Gatlin and again crossing the line well ahead of the field.

Crossing the line, Bolt had enough room to pound his chest in victory:

Usain Bolt Finish

Richard Heathcote/Getty

Here's the finish:

Usain Bolt Finish

Richard Heathcote/Getty

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Gatlin took silver. Andre De Grasse of Canada took bronze.

Bolt, who is nearly 30, still has the 200 meters and the 4x100m relay ahead of him in Rio. With his performance on Sunday, Bolt has once again showed the world that he's the best sprinter to ever live. But was that ever really a doubt?

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