Usain Bolt stayed on track to complete the Olympic sprint triple-triple on a night of shocks in the men’s 200 metres.
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Bolt, who says the race is his favorite, is set to run around 9:06 p.m. The Jamaican, who became the first man to win the Olympic 100m title for a third time on Sunday, said to be optimistic going into the semis of his favored event.
The United States has won 84 medals as of Wednesday morning – 28 Golds; 28 Silver and 28 Bronze.
“I’ll party with Prince Harry and teach him the running man”, he said.
Bolt now has the chance to chase his third straight gold medal in the 200m, a feat that will be matched by his three-straight 100m gold medals.
LaShawn Merritt ran 19.94 to easily win his semifinal, and Usain Bolt ran a season best of 19.78 (-0.3), ahead of Andre De Grasse, who broke his own Canadian National record in their semifinal.
The 2016 Olympic Games are now being held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Bolt expects the day’s rest in the 200m give him the chance to break his seven-year-old WR of 19.19 secs. De Grasse finished in 19.80 seconds to advance.
“I definitely think I can try for the world record, I definitely feel that”. That would be the 400, where four nights earlier, Merritt staggered across the line in third, almost a full second off of Wayde van Niekerk’s world-record pace.
“Now, it’s (about) executing right, running the corner efficiently, and coming in the straight and running the flawless race”, he said.
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Sixth-place Yohan Blake was another high-profile casualty, while Briton Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake bowed out with a respectable 20.25.
