Usain Bolt of Jamaica reacts after competing in the Men’s 200m Semifinals on Day 12 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium on August 17, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Advertisement
It returned in Rio de Janeiro and dampened his hopes of a gold.
In Bolt’s semifinal heat, the Jamaican star smiled and wagged his finger at a brash up-and-comer.
For the United States, which has racked up a stunning 93 medals in all so far during the games, it was a time for track stars to shine.
In the women’s 100 hurdles, American Brianna Rollins started out fast and never looked back, leading a US sweep with a time of 12.48 seconds.
Blake, the silver medalist in this event from London 2012, finished sixth in his semi-final.
“Who wouldn’t be thankful for another medal?”
On his run, Gemili said: “I really tightened up. It’s a fact the older you get, the rougher it gets to double”. He is trying to become the first American man to win gold at the Olympics since 2004.
The Jamaican, who has already retained the 100m Olympic title he’s owned since Beijing in 2008, ran his semi-final in 19.78 seconds.
His main goal during the opening rounds is to conserve energy, which is exactly what he was doing when he looked to his right, saw Canada’s Andre de Grasse a few steps behind and put it on cruise control.
He grinned his way over the line forgetting the looming threat to his prospects in the form of Canadian athlete Andre De Grasse, who is running next to him. Yohan Blake clocked the second fastest time of 19.26sec, but that was five years ago before he was left hamstrung by a series of injuries. While Bolt slowed down as he approached the line Wednesday, De Grasse appeared to speed up, pushing Bolt harder than he normally would’ve run.
“He was supposed to slow down”, said Bolt, who chastised himself for being lazy. “I just don’t know what this kid’s limits are”.
“These young guys do a great job”, he said.
Usain Bolt says it “wasn’t cool” that a competitor in the semi-final of the 200-metre sprint tried to beat him.
LaShawn Merritt, who has run 19.74 this year, is likely to pose the biggest challenge to Bolt in the final.
Panama’s Alonso Edward was the victor in 20.07secs, and USA’s Justin Gatlin also surprisingly bowed out as his third-place time was not enough to qualify.
A lost medal opportunity for the Americans, for sure.
But can he defeat Bolt, the reigning champion?
Defending champion and overwhelming favourite Ashton Eaton leads by 121 points in the decathlon. Elaine Thompson won the women’s 200-meter (21.78), which puts her in exclusive company, becoming the first woman since Florence Griffith Joyner in 1988 to win the 100-meter and 200-meter finals in the same Olympics. Bartoletta jumped 7.17 meters on her fifth of six attempts.
Brianna Rollins, Nia Ali and Kristi Castlin finished 1-2-3 in the 100-meter hurdles and Tianna Bartoletta and Brittney Reese go 1-2 in long jump.
Advertisement
Darya Klishina, Russia’s one-woman athletics team, finished ninth.
