A time of 19.79 meant Bolt sailed through to the final where the 29-year-old will be looking to add to the 100m gold he won on Monday.
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However, it was good news for Team GB’s Adam Gemili who progressed through to the final with an impressive time of with 20.08.
“I’m happy, you know what I mean?”
Reigning 100 meter and 200 meter Olympic champion Usain Bolt says he is surprised that rival Justin Gatlin failed to advance to the 200-meter final on Thursday.
“I saw that he got a national record actually, so he means business”, said the Jamaican, who turns 30 on Sunday, the final day of what he has said will be his last Olympics.
On his run, Gemili said: “I really tightened up”.
“I didn’t think he expected me to give him a race”, De Grasse said in a post race interview on CBC.
‘I want to push for gold and I want to push him (Bolt) to his full potential, ‘ says Andre De Grasse.
“Probably, I should have rested it instead of running on it”, said Gatlin, who finished second to Bolt in the 100.
Bolt is the world record holder over this distance, and has also set 10 out of the 20 fastest times in history over the distance.
But Bolt believes he can break his world record of 19.19 and could even go under 19 seconds in the final.
A glance to the side appeared to cost Gatlin his place in the top two as he lost focus, but he blamed a niggling ankle injury for missing out.
“But now, it’s executing right, running the corner efficiently and coming in the straight and running the flawless race”, he said. “I will be hoping for lane six, or seven maybe, to be able to run as smooth as I can”.
“I’m in a lot better shape than 20.08, so I’m disappointed seeing that”.
Gemili, 22, was third in 20.08, with his place in the final confirmed following the third semi-final.
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Bolt’s Jamaican team-mate Yohan Blake also went out, meaning, aside from De Grasse, world number one LaShawn Merritt, who has run 19.74 this year, is likely to pose the biggest challenge to Bolt.
