Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt suffered a rare defeat at the Rome Golden Gala Diamond League meeting, coming in second place behind Justin Gatlin in the 100m.

The American overtook the Olympic champion around the halfway stage, finishing a fraction of a second ahead of him with a time of 9.94 seconds.

"That was ridiculous - a perfect start and then I just cropped off. I think it was the perfect start that threw my game off," Bolt told reporters after the race.

"At the end it just wasn't me - at least I got under 10 seconds.

"For me it is just going through the season, putting things together for the World Championships [in Moscow]. The season is still very early."

Jimmy Vicaut of France claimed third place with a finish time of 10.02 seconds.

Bolt's last defeat over 100m occurred at the 2012 Jamaican championships where compatriot Yohan Blake edged him out.