Allegations of doping are always present in track and field, and Jamaica in particular has been hit hard with failed drug tests at every turn.

The other gold medals decided on day two of the championships went to Poland’s Pawel Fajdek in the men’s hammer throw and Miguel Angel Lopez from Spain the men’s 20km walk. But number 15-his third World Champs 100m gold-was special.

It has been seven years since Usain Bolt was etched into our collective unconscious as the greatest sprinter of all time at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Bolt had sought to play down concerns that he has been struggling to maintain his own high standards, calmly telling reporters he was in “wonderful condition” after Saturday’s heats.

Before Sunday night’s final Gatlin had run the five fastest times in the world this year.

For the first time in many years, Bolt entered Sunday’s final as a slight underdog, having recorded a semi-final time of 9.96 seconds compared to the 9.77 of Justin Gatlin of the United States.

With Gatlin losing all form in the last 20 metres of the final, Bolt ran over the top of him to win in 9.79 seconds. There was a flaw, however, in the “Gatlin will win” rationale.

“I came out here, relaxed, no stress and brought it home”. And therefore I am pushing myself and pushing myself.

Bolt crossed the line in 9.79 seconds – pedestrian by his standards. Gatlin came close to halting the unbelievable Bolt streak, but the mere presence of “The Man” created panic.

“On the last five meters, I kind of stumbled a bit”, said Gatlin, the 2004 Olympic gold medalist in the 100. Of course, a step is what he needed to win this race and he still has one up on everyone else in the world for now.

“I wish everybody would get over it, and everything they have done, I respect that, I think everyone should respect that”.

The former doping offenders Gatlin was beaten by a blink of the eye are calculated in the most important race of the season.

Short of races, Bolt had admitted that he was not as sharp as he would like to be.

“I had the momentum to lean forward to keep the momentum going and I leaned a little too fast and got off balance”.

Yet such a satisfying triumph for the 29-year-old appeared a long way off just a couple of hours earlier. “Me coming back from injury”.

There was less joviality when Gatlin was asked for a reaction to whether Bolt’s victory was significant for the sport.