Usain Bolt stormed past his rivals to claim a historic third straight Olympic 100 meters title and declared himself confident of becoming an "immortal" by the end of the Rio Games.

Hot on the heels of a sensational 400-meter world record by South African Wayde van Niekerk, the Jamaican surged past US rival Justin Gatlin to take the most prized Olympic gold in 9.81 seconds.

With one title in the bag, Bolt celebrated and turned his attention to completing the 100 meter, 200 meter and 4x100 meter gold medal sweep at three consecutive Olympics.