"He's saved his title. He's saved his reputation. He may even have saved his sport." Those were the ecstatic words of BBC commentator and former World Chmapion Steve Cram after Usain Bolt won the 100 metres World Title in Beijing on Sunday.
Ian O'Riordan from The Irish Times spoke to Off the Ball last night to look back at the 100 metres ahead of the second showdown when the two men are expected to meet in the 200 metres final on Thursday afternoon.
The BBC's alleged bias towards Bolt, has resulted in Gatlin threatening to boycott speaking to the BBC and other British media outlets. Speaking to Joe Molloy, O'Riordan said that the dressing up of the "Good v Evil" storyline has been helped by Gatlin "playing up the bad guy" and done very little to apologise for his two failed drugs tests.
Usain Bolt's chances are slimmer in the 200 metres due to a lack of racing this year and O'Riordan sees Gatlin as the favourite to win the race but "the pressure and the expectation" on the American may help Bolt win a potential second medal in the space of a week.
