Usain Bolt’s final individual race on the global stage never quite followed the script, as he finished third in the men’s 100 metres at the IAAF World Championship in London today.  

It was the crowning moment for the greatest sprinter of all time, and the multitude of fans around the world. The Racers athlete started slow as usual, was behind at the halfway point, as usual, but for the first time in a championship since 2008 he was unable to overtake the field at the IAAF world track and field championships in London.

The winner was Justin Gatlin, who came on late. Christian Coleman was second, and Bolt third.

Gatlin, the Olympic champions in 2004 and world champ in 2005, took the gold in 9.92 seconds. Coleman was just a shade behind in 9.94seconds and the legendary man Bolt third in 9.95seconds.

Bolt’s 45-race winning streak had ended earlier in the day in the semifinals to Coleman, but in the end while he did not snatch gold he was the toast of the night. Gatlin knelt and wept openly at Bolt’s feet to acknowledge greatest and the fans inside the Stadium gave Bolt a standing ovation and many cried openly. It was the second win for Gatlin over Bolt ever and the first time the American was beating Bolt in a major Championship.

It marks the final individual race in the career of the world record-holder and world’s fastest man, though Bolt is expected to close out his international career Saturday in the 4×100 relay.

Bolt has said repeatedly that this will be his final global championship, and he will try to cap a career that has been unprecedented and unlikely to ever be repeated.

He owns eight Olympic gold medals and 11 world championship golds.

Since 2008, when he set his first world record, he has not lost a championship race, and he has collected 19 gold medals in 22 opportunities at 100, 200 and 4×100. The only times, before Saturday, he did not won gold in that stretch: The 100 at the 2011 World Championship in dageu where he was disqualified for a false start; and the 2008 Olympic 4×100, a gold won by Jamaica that was subsequently stripped because a teammate tested positive for banned substances.

For Gatlin, who was sideline four years for a doping ban, the victory comes 13 years after his Olympic triumph and 12 years after his dominant performance in the 2005 worlds.

Gatlin’s victory was not popular in the stadium. For Coleman, 21, the NCAA champ from this spring, it’s a big start on his pro career.