Usain Bolt felt “kind of slow” despite winning his 100 metre heat in his first race at Rio 2016. Gatlin posted the fastest time in round one. This season Gatlin has run 9.80secs compared to Bolt’s 9.88 secs.
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Not a problem. Bolt put it into third gear – he’s got more for later – and cruised past Fisher to win the heat in 10.07 seconds.
“I think it’s really important to consider the conditions within which world records are being set here at the minute and that’s (by) catching the semi-final opponent and getting a bit of a tow”, he said.
Thiam leaped a best of 6.58 metres to leave her up front on a total of 5,018 points.
U.S. quartet Sarah Hammer, Kelly Catlin, Chloe Dygert and Jennifer Valente won their semi-final at the Olympic velodrome in a time of 4min 12.282sec to beat the 4:13.260 mark Britain posted two days ago in Thursday’s qualifying. Both Phelps and Bolt have announced that Rio will be their last Olympics and the American is expected to end his career on a high note following his shock defeat on Friday to Singapore’s Joseph Schooling in the 100m butterfly.
The Olympic spotlight will switch Saturday night to the final swimming battles where Phelps gets a chance to go out in glory, and a 23rd gold medal, in the 4×100 medley relay.
Gatlin has set the two fastest times in the world this year and went quickest in the first round of the Olympics as he began his quest to add to the gold he took in the 100m back in 2004. Anthony Ervin swam the length of the pool in 21.40 seconds, edging Florent Manaudou of France by 1/100th of a second, and fellow American Nathan Adrian by 9/100ths of a second. Schooling, who was inspired to become a top-level swimmer by a meeting with Phelps as a 13-year-old, said the night had been “just insane”.
He was trailing the lead pace in the first 30-40 meters, but then, as he looked over to see where the leaders were, Bolt realized just the speed he needed to get to the front and win the heat easily.
Elsewhere, cyclist Bradley Wiggins became Britain’s most decorated Olympian of all time and Rafael Nadal, returning from a wrist injury, won men’s doubles gold.
Bolt is a 1-2 favorite to take his unprecedented third straight Olympic title in the 100. Puig is ranked 34th and is the first unseeded women’s singles gold medalist since tennis returned to the Olympics in 1988.
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The world number two and reigning Wimbledon champion will face either 2008 Olympic victor Rafael Nadal or Juan Martin del Potro in Sunday’s gold medal match. “The better team did not win today”.
