There are some Olympic superstars who seem virtually unbeatable, and Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt is one of them – but 34-year-old American Justin Gatlin may be Team USA’s only hope at snatching the gold medal from the reigning Olympic and.
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Greeted with shrill cheers and acknowledging nearly full stands that left the watching IAAF president, Sebastian Coe, much happier than he would have been the previous day, Bolt acknowledged his public, raised a finger to his lips and got down to business. I felt kind of slow. “The fact that it’s the morning (the race actually began at 12:42 p.m.), I’m not used to running this early in the morning at a championship”.
Felix wins heat – Allyson Felix won her first round 400-meter heat in 51.24 seconds to advance to the semifinals.
Yet all of a sudden everyone, from Coe to the watching volunteers and the crowd, was smiling.
The fastest qualifier, for what it’s worth at this stage of the competition, was Gatlin.
The International Olympic Committee ruled out a blanket ban on Russia last month but imposed new rules which have barred some Russian athletes in various sports because their names were implicated in a report by World Anti-Doping Agency investigator Richard McLaren, who alleged a major doping cover-up.
“It was easy, man”. “Coach told me to go out there, control the race from the beginning, stay tall to the end and just get ready for the next day”.
“I’m feeling good. I’m happy”. “He was always on top”, she said. Even as track and field tries to clean up its ranks and flush out its dopers, it will face the additional challenge of replacing its biggest star. “I really wasn’t anticipating anything”, Gatlin said. “I have confidence in my own policies”, said the twice-banned sprinter, who continues to divide opinion between those who believe he has served his time and those who bristle at his presence.
“Usada has done a great job, Wada has done a great job”. I’ve come back and done what I need to do. But Bolt still posted a 10.07-second finish, the day’s fourth-best mark.
“People want to label and that’s all they want to do”, Gatlin said. “In 2012 coming back and making the podium again, it was like a reset for me”, he said.
The 29-year-old has endured a frustrating season, repeatedly bothered by a hamstring problem that has required extensive treatment and forced him to cut short his appearance at Jamaica’s trials in Kingston in July.
All the other medal contenders, including the American Trayvon Bromell, the Canadian Andre De Grasse and Bolt’s Jamaican team-mate Yohan Blake, all made it safely through.
A tantalising semi-final heat in the women’s 100m semi-final will pit Dafne Schippers and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce together, with the final following later in the night.
Six-time gold medallist Blake, who says this will be his last Games, nearly ambled over the line in the penultimate race of the heats despite an average start for his standards.
Asked if the race felt more special, given that it is likely to be his last Olympics, Gatlin replied: “Every Olympics is special but as you get older you understand the importance of running at Olympics”.
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There was disappointment for James Ellington, who nearly fell out of the blocks and could not recover. I get tested just like everybody else. I literally almost fell flat on my face. “I personally think we’re on the right track”.
