Usain Bolt reaffirmed his status as track and field's biggest star by beating American challenger Justin Gatlin for a third World Championships 100 meters title.
In a showdown billed by many as good vs. bad, given Gatlin's two doping bans, it was the six-time Olympic champion who proved he remains the world's fastest man.
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Bolt stumbled at the start of another unconvincing run in the semifinals, but he rose to the occasion on Sunday to win in 9.79 seconds.
Gatlin, backed by many to dethrone the Jamaica legend, settled for silver at 9.80 seconds — slower than his semifinal timing.
Bolt acknowledged it was a "big deal" to claim 100-meter gold, but stated his desire to win for himself rather than for the sport at large.
When asked by BBC Sport about why people view Bolt's win as a victory for athletics, he said: "For me I understand why (people think that), but I wanted to do it for myself. It was a big deal, obviously."
Questions had been raised over whether Bolt could win yet another title in China after injury problems and a lack of form in 2015, but two days after turning 29 he put on another master class to deny Gatlin a first major championship title since he claimed a sprint double in Helsinki a decade ago.
Bolt delivered a blistering finish to edge out Gatlin. American Trayvon Bromell and Canada's Andre De Grasse ran 9.92 seconds to share bronze.
Bolt joins Carl Lewis and Maurice Greene as the only men to win three 100-meter World Championship titles and will aim to complete yet another sprint double in the 200 meters on Thursday.
"It definitely means a lot, I've been struggling all season to figure what the problem was. I'm just happy," Bolt said. "It's just been up and down, I stumbled a little bit [in the semifinals] but when I tripped I just thought continue to drive and the rest will be OK."