Olympics 100m final: Bottle thrown before Usain Bolt win

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A man has been arrested after a bottle was thrown on to the track seconds before the start of the men's 100m final at the Olympic Stadium.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said a man had been heard shouting abuse and was then seen throwing a bottle. It landed behind the sprinters.

US athlete Justin Gatlin, who won bronze in Sunday's race, said the bottle had been a "little distraction".

Nobody was injured and the event was not disrupted, police said.

The suspect is being held at an east London police station on suspicion of causing a public nuisance.

'Peculiar bloke'

Start Quote

Then he threw that bottle and in my emotion I hit him on the back with the flat of my hand”

End Quote Edith Bosch Dutch judo champion

A spokesman for Games organisers Locog said: "The incident had no impact on the competitors or the event."

Following the incident Edith Bosch, the Dutch judo champion who won a Bronze medal in the 70kg category, tweeted about hitting a man who she saw throwing a bottle on the track.

The 32-year-old later told Dutch television station NOS TV: "I had seen the man walking around earlier and said to people around me that he was a peculiar bloke.

"Then he threw that bottle and in my emotion I hit him on the back with the flat of my hand.

"Then he was scooped up by the security. However, he did make me miss the final, and I am very sad about that.

"I just cannot understand how someone can do something like that."

'So focused'

Speaking about the bottle-throwing after Sunday's 100m race, Justin Gatlin said: "I didn't know what it was, but when you're in those blocks, and the whole stadium's quiet, you can hear a pin drop."

Gatlin said the incident had not affected the race.

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"You just have to block it out and go out there and do what you got to do. You can't complain about that, the race went on and it was a great race."

Winner Usain Bolt told reporters he had been unaware of the incident.

He added: "No, I keep hearing that. I don't know who would have done that."

Fellow Jamaican sprinter Yohan Blake, who came second, said: "I was so focused I didn't see anything. I was so focused on just running to the line."

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