Usain Bolt has his eyes on retaining gold when he lines out for the 100m semi-finals at 1am, followed by the final at 2.25am.
The Jamaican looked impressive in the heats of the 100m on Sunday as the world’s fastest man finally brought the crowds to Rio’s Olympic Stadium.
Bolt, in Brazil to complete the ‘triple triple’ of Olympic sprint titles, admitted he was “sluggish” out of the blocks, but was still comfortable enough to look across to check his position by halfway and shut down well before the line.
He came home in 10.07 seconds as his American rival for gold, Justin Gatlin, was the fastest qualifier overall in 10.01s.
“I’m happy to get the first one out, it felt okay,” said Bolt. “It wasn’t the best start. Hopefully tomorrow I can go much smoother, I’m feeling good, I’m happy.
“Now it’s all about execution and getting it right when it comes to the final.”
The 29-year-old, though, clearly looked to be feeling no lingering ill-effects of the hamstring strain which forced him out of the Jamaican trials, while the rustiness he spoke about after his last appearance before the Games, over 200m in London, was also far less evident.
The Jamaican looked impressive in the heats of the 100m on Sunday as the world’s fastest man finally brought the crowds to Rio’s Olympic Stadium.
Bolt, in Brazil to complete the ‘triple triple’ of Olympic sprint titles, admitted he was “sluggish” out of the blocks, but was still comfortable enough to look across to check his position by halfway and shut down well before the line.
He came home in 10.07 seconds as his American rival for gold, Justin Gatlin, was the fastest qualifier overall in 10.01s.
“I’m happy to get the first one out, it felt okay,” said Bolt. “It wasn’t the best start. Hopefully tomorrow I can go much smoother, I’m feeling good, I’m happy.
“Now it’s all about execution and getting it right when it comes to the final.”
The 29-year-old, though, clearly looked to be feeling no lingering ill-effects of the hamstring strain which forced him out of the Jamaican trials, while the rustiness he spoke about after his last appearance before the Games, over 200m in London, was also far less evident.
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