100m Sprint: Olympic champion Usain Bolt beaten by American

The Olympic champion sprinter Usain Bolt- dubbed the fast man on the planet - shocked his fans by losing a race yesterday.

                        Bolt, who looked tense before the race even started, tried to shrug off his defeat at the hand of Justin Gatlin

The 26-year-old Jamaican, who holds the world 100m record, came second in a 100m sprint in Rome to 31-year-old American sprinter, Justin Gatlin.

Bolt, who finished in 9.95 seconds compared to Gatlin's 9.94, has not lost a 100m race since 2010, when he was suffering from a back injury.

The shock defeat occurred last night at the Rome Golden Gala Diamond League meeting in front of thousands of spectators.

Bolt, who holds the current world record after running the 100m in 9.58 seconds in 2009, started the race well, but then stumbled and could not regain his lead on Gatlin, a former drugs cheat.

Afterwards Bolt, who refers to himself as 'a legend', tried to shrug off his performance as a jubilant Gatlin danced around the track to celebrate his victory.

Athletics: Usain Bolt beaten

Jamaican sprint star Usain Bolt, testing himself again over 400 meters, clocked 46.44secs in a runner-up finish to Nicholas Maithland at the University of West Indies Invitational.

It was the third 400m of the young season for Bolt, better known as the back-to-back Olympic champion in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m.Bolt, who also raced the 400m at the low-key Camperdown Classic and competed in the 4x400m relay at the Gibson Relays — both in February — started out well on Saturday.He led into the straight, but faded as Maithland took charge in the closing stages to win in 45.79."I'm happy to finish the race injury free and looking forward to the rest of the season," Bolt said, adding that he's looking forward to his next competition, March 31 in Brazil.

"This will be my second time in Brazil, but this time to compete and I hope all the fans come out and support me," he said.In another heat, double Olympic sprint silver medalist Yohan Blake was also beaten, clocking 46.33secs to take second behind Allodin Fothergill (46.24).Blake, who is the reigning 100m world champion, said the run, his best over the distance, showed he is where he wants to be in the early stage of the season."I feel good to run my personal best over 400," Blake said. "If the wind wasn't that strong, I would have gotten a faster time. But I still have to give good thanks."