Bolt, the world record holder for the 200m with a time of 19.19, will be joined by two of his countrymen in the semis. Though many questioned that he seemed so lax with his qualifying run, Bolt said that he is determined to show the world that he could possibly break his own record. “I am nervous at the same time, but I am ready”, Bolt said following his opening round 20.28 clocking to win his heat of the half-lap event. Greeted by those boos, Gatlin then saw Bolt race past him to an historic third Olympic title in the 100 metres.
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He blamed the brutal schedule, which left little recovery time between the 100m semi-finals and final, for the slow winning time of 9.81s in the blue-riband event, but said the fact the 200m timetable was easier would aid his bid to make history again in his favourite event.
Among those who will challenge him include American Justin Gatlin and Canadian Andre De Grasse, who finished 2-3 to Bolt in the 100, along with LaShawn Merritt of the U.S. They all won their heats on a muggy, sun-splashed day in a stadium with huge swaths of empty blue seats.
Yohan Blake (20.13) and LaShawn Merritt (20.15) were among others to qualify easily. He qualified second in his heat in a time of 20.13.
Meanwhile, in field event action, Americans Christian Taylor and Will Claye repeated their 1-2 finish in the men’s triple jump from London 2012. “I said: “Sandra, now or never”, Perkovic said. “We all want to come together like a brotherhood”.
“I’ll have enough rest and enough energy to definitely try [for the world record]”. I just had to keep my composure and execute. “It’s been there so long”. World champion Denia Caballero of Cuba took bronze.
He was delighted with his effort.
“It’s very special for me because it’s the Olympics”, said Dong. I wasnt in the best of shape but I really, really wanted to be in that race.
“It’s a new landscape for me. When it comes to it, I guess I’ve given him his closest races in all his career, so to be able to say that at the age I’m at right now, it’s a true honour, guys”.
“At the end of the day, you hear everything, but you have to tune that kind of stuff out”, added the 2004 Athens gold medallist after clocking 9.89 seconds to trail Bolt eight hundredths of second.
Perkovic started the competition with two fouls, but the champion held it together to toss a huge 69.21m in the third round to defend her crown.
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The 200 final is Thursday night, when the biggest drama may not be whether Bolt wins, but whether he cracks the once-thought-untouchable 19-second barrier.
