Speaking himself after the race, Bolt confessed that De Grasse’s finish had thrown him somewhat, remarking that the Canadian had sped up “unnecessarily” in the final 30m.
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In the remarkable footage, the 29-year-old is running hell for leather in the 200m semi-finals.
In other action across the Rio Games, Elaine Thompson won the women’s 200 meters and Usain Bolt cruised to a win in the semifinals of the men’s 200.
“I don’t think he expected me to do that, ‘ De Grasse said after the race. I was a bit lazy, but I got round, “.
In the 200m heats, Andre de Grasse clocked the fastest time heats in 20.09 seconds, followed by Hortelano Bruno with 20.12 seconds and Yohan Blake in 20.13 seconds.
“I’m just glad I was able to walk off the track without a real harmful injury and be able to rest myself, get the treatment I need for my ankle and come out here and help my teammates in the 4x100m relay”.
Bolt laughed an shook his finger at a grinning de Grasse after they passed the finish line in first and second.
After powering through the bend, the Jamaican was clear of the field, including De Grasse. Now, I see where people are trying to go with this, but in her case, don’t do that. “I need to run efficiently and get into the straight and run the ideal race”.
On Day 13 of the Olympic Games, Usain Bolt will run in the men’s 200m finals, the women’s basketball team will compete in the semifinals, Brazil and Italy will compete for the gold in men’s beach volleyball and medals will be awarded in the women’s diving 10m platform. “It’s a semifinal.’ But I think he wanted to push me”. The current record stands at 19.19 seconds.
“You can tell from the 100m he’s getting old”.
Bolt, boosted by his win in Sunday’s 100m final, looked unstoppable as he reached the 200m final with a season’s best of 19.78sec.
“He was supposed to slow down”. He’s a young kid. LaShawn Merritt came up with 19.94sec, but that would be deemed to be painfully sluggish in the final. “I’ll be out there rubbing his shoulders, with a towel on him, like, ‘All right Rocky, get yourself ready, ‘” Gatlin said, doing his best impression of Burgess Meredith’s trainer character in the “Rocky” movies.
In the evening’s biggest stunner, Gatlin, who has given Bolt more run for his money than anyone else over the past four years, finished third in his heat.
He faced an anxious wait through the remaining two semis but eventually was confirmed as one of the two fastest losers to qualify for the final, which will be run at 2.30am on Friday morning.
Reese, who has won more global long jump titles than any other woman, had one last chance to snatch gold but her final round jump of 7.15 was just shy of her compatriot’s mark and she had to settle for a silver.
“Having that lane three coming off the turn, I felt pain in the last 20 metres, I looked over and tried to hold on and do the best I could”.
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“I’m like ‘Why, it’s the semifinals, you know what I mean?’ Someone like Kim Collins give me inspiration for Tokyo!”
