It had the look of an unthinkable loss in the Olympic 200 meters.
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Bolt retained his 200 metres title in Rio on Thursday after also winning gold in the 100m and the sprint king be expected to add a ninth Olympic title when Jamaica go in the 4x100m final on Friday.
“My body just wouldn’t respond in the straight”, Bolt said. “I knew it was going to be hard to break the world record, because I could tell by my legs”. His run for gold No. 9 comes today in the 4×100 relays. The field chased him through a thin mist that started about 30 minutes before the race.
There was agony for Britain’s Adam Gemili, who was edged out of the bronze medal by France’s Christophe Lemaitre by just three thousandths of a second, and the Briton slumped devastated on the track. “Probably the worst way to go out is fourth place and it went down to thousandths”.
Way up ahead, Bolt gave every ounce of effort – no hot-dogging or celebrating early as was his wont in some of his best 100s – his arms pumping hard, face twisted with pain and effort as he hugged the left edge of his lane and approached the line. He didn’t come close, and he knew it, glancing at the clock that flashed 19.78.
But Bolt looked disappointed with his time as he ripped the numbers off his shorts and threw them to the ground. “I came to prove to the world I’m the best and uplift the sport”. To borrow a Phelpsian analogy from the American swimmer’s 200m butterfly win earlier the Games, Bolt seemed “like he wasn’t just moving”, despite all the surge and power to his second gold here.
Allyson Felix, who is on the defending US women’s 4×100 relay team, dropped the baton during a qualifying heat after being bumped by a Brazilian runner.
Spain was always going to be in the way of the US men’s basketball team at the Rio Olympics – whether it was playing for the gold medal, as they had in the last two Olympics, or just for the chance to get into the gold medal round. Alistair won the gold medal and Jonathan the silver in the event.
“It’s not like that”, Auriemma said, “and our players really found out today that without Sue it’s certainly not going to be like that”. But, time used to take time, now, it’s quicker off the blocks than the man once used to be. He became the first Canadian to climb twice on the Olympic podium in a test individual sprint since 1928.
China finishes 1-2 in women’s Olympic platform diving: RIO DE JANEIRO – China has its next diving superstar. On Thursday, Ren Qian, 15, won the gold medal in the women’s 10-meter platform.
Ren finished with 439.25 points, while Si settled for silver at 419.40 in a back-and-forth duel that wiped out any would-be contenders.
“I can’t say, swimming and track and field are totally different events”, he shrugged.
By the end, Benfeito was the only one anywhere close, grabbing the bronze at 389.20.
Even the prospect of witnessing a once-in-a-century athlete in his pomp was not enough to fill the Rio Olympic Stadium but what the crowd lacked in numbers, they made up for in noise as they welcomed Bolt to the track like a rock star.
It wasn’t the prettiest of races, not the ones we have come to associate with Bolt, the ones that he automatically makes them the nearly happy exhibitions of acceleration and power; short but everlasting.
A fine finish saw Charlie Grice qualify fifth from his 1,500m semi-final, although Chris O’Hare’s hopes disappeared after a cumbersome finish.
Great Britain is unbeaten in Rio so far and wants to maintain that in its first Olympic final.
In the other semifinal, Australia plays Serbia.
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Jenet Morrow says that she admired the woman but couldn’t live with her. Her round could have been better if not for a double-bogey on the 14th hole.
