Usain Bolt of Jamaica celebrates winning the gold medal. [Photo/Agencies]

The result kept intact Bolt's hopes of being the first man to achieve an unprecedented triple-triple: three successive Olympic gold medals in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay.

Bolt enjoyed overwhelming support from the capacity crowd while his long-time rival Gatlin was roundly jeered.

Bolt beat Gatlin by one-hundredth of a second at the World Championships in Beijing last year.

The 34-year-old American won the 100m gold medal at the Athens 2004 Games but later served a four-year ban for doping.