RIETI, Italy (AP) – American sprinter Justin Gatlin finished the season undefeated by winning the 100 metres in 9.83 seconds at the IAAF world challenge meeting today.
Gatlin won all 18 races he entered this year.
“My season ends now. I need to rest,” Gatlin said. “The crowd gave me a lot of energy.”
Two finals were held and former world record holder Asafa Powell won the first in 9.90.
Powell, who is returning from a doping ban, set a then world record of 9.74 seconds in Rieti in 2007.
In Gatlin’s final, Jamaica’s Nesta Carter was the runner-up in 10.07 and Christophe Lemaitre of France took third in 10.15.
In the high jump, Bohdan Bondarenko edged fellow Ukrainian Andriy Protsenko, 2.36 metres to 2.25, for the tenth consecutive time.
