Akani Simbine upstaged a stumbling Yohan Blake to win 100 meters gold at the Commonwealth Games on Monday.
Blake was the favorite to be crowned men's sprint champion at Carrara Stadium, but the Jamaican could only take bronze after he failed to recover from a poor start and South Africa's Simbine eased to victory in 10.03 seconds ahead of compatriot Henricho Bruintjies.
With Usain Bolt enjoying his retirement, Blake was well fancied to fly the flag for Jamaica in the 100m final.
He failed to rise to the occasion, though, as Simbine surged to an emphatic victory, with Bruintjies ensuring Blake took the third step on the podium.
"The 100m is an event of who's got the biggest ego and who can handle the ego the best." said Simbine, who finished fifth in the 100 at the 2016 Oylmpics. "I didn't focus on what they were all talking about. I just focused on myself."
And @TeamSA18 Akani Simbine storms to victory for South Africa in the Men's 100m final at Carrara Stadium. pic.twitter.com/ym3CxhzscB
— Commonwealth Games Federation (@thecgf) April 9, 2018
Last month, Bolt jokingly warned Blake there would be "problems" if he failed to win a medal at the games.
The eight-time Olympic gold medalist and world record holder over 100 and 200 meters playfully suggested to his former Jamaica teammate that failure on the Gold Coast will land him trouble.
"Usain Bolt was at the track in Jamaica before I left," Blake told the media upon his arrival in Australia. "He said: 'If you don't win there is going to be problems.'
"I don't have a Commonwealth medal. It's very important for me to have one in my trophy case."
He has one now. It's just not the one he wanted.
Blake endured a disappointing 2017, missing out on a World Championships medal in the 100m and failing to make the 200m final.
However, Bolt is the only man to go faster than his 100m personal best of 9.69 seconds, and the 28-year-old has set the second-quickest time of 2018.
"Usain Bolt has left his legacy for us to carry on and that's what we want to do," said Blake in the days leading up to the race. "That's what I want, to start with the Commonwealths, to take over the dominance of the sprinting world."
Turns out Simbine has his own plans.