Usain Bolt wins 100 at worlds

MOSCOW -- Usain Bolt restored order to the world of sprinting.

Regaining the 100-meter world championship gold he lost through a false start two years ago, the Olympic champion once again holds every major sprint title there is.

And he shook off rain, a slow start and any doubters Sunday to prove there never has been an athlete quite like him.

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Oliver Morin/AFP/Getty ImagesUsain Bolt regained the 100-meter world championship title he lost through a false start two years ago.

Despite getting late out of the blocks in the downpour, the Jamaican superstar steadily caught up with 2004 Olympic champion Justin Gatlin and left the American behind with a trademark late burst of speed that, still, no one can match.

If the result was predictable, the demeanor was not.

At 26, he has left behind most of the hot-dogging that has made him famous. While he used to start celebrating well before the finish on big wins, he remained expressionless this time as he ran across the line watching his performance on the giant screen in front of him.

It took him several minutes of understated celebrations before he unleashed the mighty "Lightning Bolt" pose that made him famous across the globe.

His winning time was almost irrelevant, 9.77 seconds, .19 seconds behind his world record. Gatlin crossed second in 9.85, while Bolt's teammate, Nesta Carter, took bronze in 9.95.

If Bolt did not produce a sense of theater himself, the elements did it for him. Lightning flashed over Luzhniki Stadium half an hour before the final, and the rain started pouring in as the finalists entered the arena.

To the cheers of about 25,000 fans, the stadium played Bob Marley's classic "Three Little Birds" and he was loosening his neck muscles to the lyrics, "Don't worry, 'bout a thing. 'Cause every little thing is gonna be all right."

It was for him. Not his opponents.

Gatlin had beaten Bolt in Rome early this season, and could take some hope from a blistering start on Sunday. But once those huge strides of Bolt started catching up with him, it was all over.

Earlier Sunday, Ashton Eaton added the world title to his Olympic decathlon gold medal and Brittney Reese reigned over the long jump for the third time in a row in a golden day for the United States.

Eaton blazed away from competition on the second and final day of the 10-discipline event and was able to cruise home in the 1,500 meters to claim the biggest title which still eluded him.

A standout 110 hurdles to start the day allowed him to confidently build an increasing lead and he sealed it with a big javelin throw in the penultimate event.

Finishing sixth in the final race in the muggy heat of about 86 degrees was more than enough for Eaton, who won with 8,809 points.

For Reese, it was another world championships of living dangerously. Reese only reached the final as the last qualifier.

On Sunday though, a huge jump of 7.01 meters on her second attempt was good for gold, beating Blessing Okagbare of Nigeria by 2 centimeters.

At 26, the gold made Reese the defining long jumper of the past half-decade with six straight major international titles.

She celebrated wearing a T-shirt that read "Unleash the Beast," referring to the nickname she earned as a relentless competitor.

Host nation Russia won its first gold medal at the championships when 20-year-old Aleksandr Ivanov won the 20-kilometer walk in a sweltering race, beating Olympic champion Chen Ding.

As so often in the walk, disqualifications for running or technical infractions were crucial. Two kilometers from the finish, Erick Barrondo of Guatemala edged ahead of Ivanov, not knowing that he had just received his disqualification card.

Besides Eaton and Reese, the United States is also looking at a possible sweep in the 110-meter hurdles after its three top runners reached the semifinals.

Olympic gold medalist Aries Merritt, defending champion Jason Richardson and the season's fastest man, David Oliver, all won their heats.

Merritt and Richardson combined for a 1-2 finish at last year's London Olympic.

"I wouldn't mind if we swept up the hurdles," Richardson said, anticipating that with Ryan Wilson also through, they could even go 1-2-3-4.

"I'm coming on this team with an amazing group of athletes. Aries is formidable with the world record. David, former American record holder. Of course, Ryan, who's a veteran of the game," Richardson said. "Feel bad for fourth place, but, hey, things happen."

Hansle Parchment of Jamaica, a bronze medalist at the London Olympics, finished fifth in his heat but made it through as the one of the fastest losers.

The women sprinters started their qualifying heats in the morning humidity at a near-empty Luzhniki Stadium.

Most favorites never pushed themselves in advancing to the semifinals, but American runner English Gardner went well under 11 seconds in 10.92 to be the top qualifier.

"We've trained through a lot of meets, and finally, like I always say, the lion got let out of the cage and I just went out there and had some fun," Gardner said.

Defending champion Carmelita Jeter, Alexandria Anderson and Octavious Freeman made sure all four Americans advanced.

Kerron Stewart and two-time Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce led the Jamaican contingent of four into the semifinals. The other finals on Day 2 are the women's discus throw and the women's 10,000.