 In the Olympic 100 m final , Bolt broke new ground , winning in 9 @.@ 69 s ( unofficially 9 @.@ 683 s ) with a reaction time of 0 @.@ 165 s . This was an improvement upon his own world record , and he was well ahead of second @-@ place finisher Richard Thompson , who finished in 9 @.@ 89 s . Not only was the record set without a favourable wind ( + 0 @.@ 0 m / s ) , but he also visibly slowed down to celebrate before he finished and his shoelace was untied . Bolt 's coach reported that , based upon the speed of Bolt 's opening 60 m , he could have finished with a time of 9 @.@ 52 s . After scientific analysis of Bolt 's run by the Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics at the University of Oslo , Hans Eriksen and his colleagues also predicted a sub 9 @.@ 60 s time . Considering factors such as Bolt 's position , acceleration and velocity in comparison with second @-@ place @-@ finisher Thompson , the team estimated that Bolt could have finished in 9 @.@ 55 ± 0 @.@ 04 s had he not slowed to celebrate before the finishing line . 
