 | |
| Like he did in his first round heat, which he comfortable won in 10.20 seconds, Bolt had a modest start, but got into his racing form very quickly to ease to victory in 9.92 seconds, the fastest time of the second round. (Photo: SportingEagle.com) | |
By Gary Smith
BEIJING, China, August 15, 2008 - World record holder, Jamaican Usain Bolt, was on a Sunday morning cruise and yet he still looked the most impressive in the men's 100 metres, leading a Caribbean contingent into the semi-finals at the Beijing Bird Nest Stadium.
Like he did in his first round heat, which he comfortably won in 10.20 seconds, Bolt had a modest start, but got into his racing form very quickly to ease to victory in 9.92 seconds, the fastest time of the second round.
The run from the 21-year-old cemented his status as the strong favourite for the gold medal.
The Caribbean will take up half the places in the two semi-finals. Earlier in the night, Dutch Antilles' Churandy Martina and Trinidadian Richard Thompson also broke the 10-second barrier in their quarter-final races. Bolt's fellow countryman and former world record holder Asafa Powell also looked impressive in his heat, despite not going under 10 seconds.
Martina, one of the athletes targeting an upset in the event, won the first quarter-finals in a personal best time of 9.99 seconds and beat Jamaica's Michael Frater, who finished second in 10.09.
Thompson followed that performance in the next round with the same time when he won ahead of Tyson Gay, who struggled to keep up with the pace and finished second at 10.09.
Powell clocked 10.02 in the final heat to join his countrymen in the semi-finals.
The Jamaican had suffered a stomach problem after his first round race, but managed to get over the problem after receiving treatment by the track side line.
"My stomach felt bad after breakfast," Powell said afterwards.
Trinidadian champion Marc Burns, who took heat three in 10.05, must not be counted out. One of his compatriots, Darrel Brown suffered an injury in his race and failed to progress.
The total list of Caribbean sprinters who have advanced to the semifinals are Powell, Bolt and Frater of Jamaica, Bahamian Derrick Atkins, Burns and Thompson of Trinidad and Tobago, Kim Collins of St Kitts and Nevis and Martina of the Dutch Antilles.
Powell will face Gay, Thompson and Martina in the second semifinal, while the other Caribbean athletes will compete in the first one before the final showdown.
Meanwhile, in the women's 800 metre early rounds, Jamaica's Kenia Sinclair clocked 2:03.76 to finish second behind gold medal favourite Pamela Jelimo of Kenya in 2:03.18.
Cuba's Zulia Calatayud ran 2:00.34 to win heat five, while Neisha Bernard-Thomas ran a Grenadian national record of 2:00.09 to book her place in the next round.
|
