LONDON, CMC – Sprint superstar Usain Bolt described his opening heat run here yesterday morning as “easy” as he took a giant step towards an unprecedented repeat Olympic sprint double at the London Games.
Bolt did not have the smoothest curve but cruised down the straight for a comfortable victory in the opening heat in a time of 20.39secs.
He said he was a little bit sluggish as he has not run a 200m since Jamaica trials on July 1 but added he was now fully focussed on today’s semi-finals.
“I’m looking forward to tomorrow where I will have to push myself around the corner a little more and start to run the corner more technical,” the 25-year-old said afterwards.
“I am just looking forward to the next round to test myself on the corner and take it home.”
Meanwhile, Bolt’s Jamaican teammates and training partners Yohan Blake, the 100m silver medallist, and new kid on the block Warren Weir, also won their respective heats. Blake was comfortable as he showed a big improvement on the curve, eventually jogging across the line in 20.38 seconds.
He is being viewed as the main theat to Bolt’s bid to repeat as 200m champion.
“I did what my coach (Glen Mills) said and qualified,” said Blake.
“I’m feeling good, that’s why they call me The Beast. The track is fast.”
When asked about the time it will take to win the final, he replied: “Anything is possible.”
Weir, who ran the hurdles during his junior days for Jamaica, had his first outing at the senior level for his country and was timed at 20.29 run.
He also showed composure on the curve before shutting down some 40 metres out and easing to the finish.
Weir took into the semis with him Antoine Adams of St Kitts and Nevis, who finished second in 20.59 seconds. Michael Mathieu off the Bahamas (20.62) and Brendan Christian of Antigua and Barbuda (20.63) all made it to the semi-finals of the men’s 200m, but there was no such luck for Grenadian Joel Redhead (21.22) and Trinidad and Tobago’s Rondel Sorrillo (20.76), who was expected to at least in the penultimate round.
Trevorvano Mackey of the Bahamas also failed to advance with his 21.38 seconds time.
Meanwhile, former world champion Ryan Braithwaite led three Caribbean athletes into the semi-final round of the men’s 110m hurdles, to be staged tonight.
Brathwaite, winner at the 2009 World Championships, ran 13.23 seconds to finish second behind American Aries Merritt, one of the favourites, who won heat five in 13.07 – the fastest time of the day.
Jamaican Richard Phillips, in his third Olympics, qualified as one of the fastest losers from the heat.
Brathwaite said the aim was to take it easy in the heats.
“My coach told me just to go out and cruise through the heats and go hard in the semis,” he explained.
“I just eased down at the seventh hurdle just to maintain the second place because it’s the top three that qualify.” Hansle Parchment, the Jamaican and World University Games champion, took one of three automatic qualifying spots in heat three with a time of 13.32 for second behind Cuban Orlando Ortega (13.26).
Parchment, the rising Jamaican star hurdler, said he had achieved his first objective.
“The main aim was to make it to the next round so I am ok,” he said
“I felt I have done enough work in training so I feel I can get there (final) and get a medal.”
The two other Barbadians – Greggmar Swift, who was fifth in heat four in 13.62 seconds and Shane Brathwaite who fell at the first hurdle – did not advance.
In heat two, Jamaica’s Andrew Riley, the 2012 NCAA 100m and 110m hurdles winner, finished a disappointing fifth in 13.59 and also missed out.
In the men’s qualification round of the triple jump, Leevan “Superman” Sands of the Bahamas advanced to the final after cutting the sand at 17.17m.
