Of course, Bolt isn’t actually in the final just yet, but having won his 200m heat at a canter, it’s unlikely that he’ll have any trouble progressing from his semi-final on Wednesday.
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Bolt is halfway through what may be the final chapter of a historic Olympic “triple-double” in the men’s sprints, as he hopes to add the 200m gold to the 100m crown for the third consecutive Games.
Gatlin, 34, hit back at his critics and said: “When people come out here they get enthralled in the excitement, I understand that and there’s a lot of Usain Bolt fans and a lot of Jamaican fans. I really want the 200m world record”.
“When I got to 50 metres, I felt great and I could tell that I was going to catch him”, said Bolt, about overtaking Gatlin to the gold. Two more medals to go and I can sign off.
“I’ve recovered from the 100m”. “It was stressful, man, because I didn’t know if she was going to say yes or not”.
Bolt, who hosted van Niekerk in Kingston two months ago for a week-long training exchange said at the time that he was impressed with the quarter-miler’s speed and was full of praise for his latest achievement. “When he comes away from the track, he’s a great guy, he’s a cool guy”.
“He has pushed me to be the athlete I am today”. When it comes down to it I’ve given him the closest races in all his career.
Van Niekerk trained with Bolt in Jamaica ahead of the Games. “I am here to stay”, she said.
“I hate the mornings so I am happy to have this out the way”.
Sharpe’s biggest concern was De Grasse getting a good start to the race, since he’s not known for being fast off the blocks. Bolt is so confident and such an elite athlete, shooting him is an wonderful experience.
The athletics legend is now bidding to win gold in the 200m and the 4x100m relay to take his tally to nine Olympic titles.
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Bolt secured the 100 metres title on Sunday to take another step on the path to an unprecedented third successive sweep of all three Olympic sprint titles – 100, 200 and 4×100 metres. Few, if any, would bet against him.
