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Tommy Martin on Usain Bolt: "He's slowing down as he gets older - could anything be more natural?"

Justin Gatlin's stunning upset victory over Usain Bolt in his last ever individual race was the f...



Tommy Martin on Usain Bolt: &#...
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Tommy Martin on Usain Bolt: "He's slowing down as he gets older - could anything be more natural?"

Justin Gatlin's stunning upset victory over Usain Bolt in his last ever individual race was the first topic of discussion on Off the Ball's Sunday Paper Review.

The script was written for the star of athletics to win his final solo gold medal at a 100m race meet only to be pipped on the line at the Olympic Stadium in London. 

Nathan Murphy was joined in studio by Brendan O'Brien and Tommy Martin to reflect on the race which saw Bolt claim a bronze medal after finishing behind Gatlin and Christian Coleman on Saturday night.

Gatlin was roundly booed by the crowd as he has twice served a ban for doping and at 35 years of age ran a time of 9.94 to beat the 30-year-old Bolt. 

The American tested positive for a banned amphetamine in 2001 while he was caught using testosterone in 2006. 

"I was thinking about this earlier in terms of humiliation," said Martin, adding: "You could argue that it was actually a good and logical thing to happen because you should be losing races as you get older. You're more likely to lose races if you are a clean athlete.

Jamaica's Usain Bolt applauds the crowd after the final. Image: ©INPHO/Morgan Treacy

"So the fact that Bolt lost...is proof that he's human after all. He's slowing down as he gets older - could anything be more natural than that?" he added.

Bolt has previously won 11 gold medals at the World Championships including three 100m golds. 

The medal ceremony for the race was due to be held at a prime viewing time on live TV at 20:00 on Sunday but this has been changed to 18:50 - just before live coverage of the days' events begin.

The full paper review can be heard here:

Tommy Martin on Usain Bolt: "He's slowing down as he gets older - could anything be more natural?"

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