Olympics 100m final: Bottle thrown before Usain Bolt win

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'

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.

"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."