Bolt cruises in heats as Gatlin impresses

AFP/Moscow

Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt’s bid to regain his 100 metres world title, which he relinquished when he false-started in the 2011 final, began in gentle fashion yesterday when he cruised into today’s semi-finals.

Ironically, the 26-year-old world record holder’s campaign began with a false start but fortunately for him it was Kemar Hyman of the Cayman Islands who saw his competition come to an early end in Moscow.

After that, and having crossed himself and pointed to the heavens in traditional Bolt fashion, the six-time Olympic gold medallist got down to business and sauntered over the line in 10.07sec.

A small round of applause from him and a look at the screen proved sufficient before leaving the track. 

He said he had not been anxious that the false start would be called against him.

“I saw him (Hyman) move. I knew it was him, so I wasn’t worried,” he said.

“I am confident for tomorrow. I’m always confident.”

With the second fastest man of all time, Tyson Gay, barred after failing dope tests, Bolt’s main rival is another American, former drugs cheat Justin Gatlin.

The 31-year-old looked in superb shape as he won his heat from lane nine in 9.99sec, edging out Trinidadian Keston Bledman with British veteran Dwain Chambers, like Gatlin, no stranger to a doping ban, taking third.

Gatlin, who was double sprint world champion in the 2005 edition, was delighted with his performance.

“I’m happy with my performance. Now I need to see what my coach makes of it, as he’s the really critical one,” said Gatlin, who came back to win Olympic bronze last year after ending a four-year drug ban in 2010.

“I was calm and in control. I think I have a great chance to win here.” Chambers, a three-time world 100m finalist, said that no matter his advancing years he still found the experience at this level nerve-jangling.

“It’s always nerve-racking in the first round. You would think I’d be used to it, but the competition gets stiffer and stiffer,” said the 35-year-old. Meanwhile,  double defending decathlon world champion Trey Hardee was dumped out of the competition as he no-heighted in the high jump leaving fellow Americans Ashton Easton and Gunnar Nixon fighting it out at the halfway mark.

Hardee, who triumphed in Berlin and Daegu and took Olympic silver behind Eaton last year, was looking off the pace on the opening morning and went into the high jump, the fourth discipline, in fifth place.

With a personal best of 1.99 metres it was among his weaker events but he strained a hamstring in his second attempt and then failed again.

“My hamstring got tight on me in the second jump and just wouldn’t release and the third jump came too soon for me to recover,” he said. “My body would not let me compete today.

“Gunnar has done outstandingly in the first four events but I still think Ashton is the man to beat,” added Hardee, somewhat prophetically, ahead of the day-closing 400 metres.