Usain Bolt crossed the finish line and wagged his finger at the brash up-and-comer who dared challenge him.
Didn't Andre de Grasse know that nobody's supposed to mess with the Jamaican's 200 metersIJ Especially at the Olympics.
Bolt, in search of his eighth Olympic gold, considers the 200 his best race and, in the past, has taken umbrage with anyone who suggests they might beat him.
De Grasse tried to in the semifinals, even though he and Bolt were clearly in the top two spots as they came down the stretch, and securely into Thursday night's final.
Instead of slowing, de Grasse sped up and forced Bolt, who had already slowed down, to pick up the pace. The two looked at each other and smiled as they approached the finish line. Bolt leaned across in 19.78 seconds, only .02 ahead of the Canadian.
Bolt wagged his finger at de Grasse and laughed.
But he didn't really find it funny. De Grasse conceded he pushed too hard. On Thursday, nobody will be coasting in. As much as winning his eighth Olympic gold medal, Bolt is aiming for a world record. He holds the current mark, at 19.19 seconds, but thinks a sub-19 time could be possible.
If things go terribly wrong for him, here are some others who could be a factor:
DE GRASSE: The 21-year-old bronze medalist in the 100 meters could represent a changing of the guard in the sprint game. Big question: Did pushing Bolt for a relatively meaningless semifinal placing actually sap any strength from the championIJ
lASHAWN MERRITT: It's not Bolt, but Merritt, who currently has the year's best time at 200 meters (19.74 seconds). But it's not Merritt's best race. That would be the 400, where four nights earlier, Merritt staggered across the line in third, nearly a full second off of Wayde van Niekerk's world-record pace. How much did that take out of MerrittIJ We shall see. He'd have to be ecstatic with any kind of medal in his "bonus race."
JUSTIN GATlIN: Um, well, no. After capturing silver in the 100, the main challenger to Bolt over the past two years didn't qualify for the 200 final. He revealed he'd been dealing with an injured ankle. But he isn't checking out completely from the race.