Bolt’s last dance starts with waltz
ASLOW start, an easy finish and that same old burst of beautiful cruelty in the middle. Usain Bolt is up and running in his final World Championships and immediately it is hard to figure out who might be capable of taking him down.
It is not that his 100m run of 10.07sec in the first round last night was impressive because it was actually pretty mediocre by the Jamaican’s standards, given he opened with a stumble and closed with just the eighth quickest time of the qualifiers. Indeed, he was grumbling on his way off the track.
But the time and the smoothness and the aesthetics are not the point and never are in these early skirmishes. It is about ease, about giving a little and still winning, about room to go faster. And when is Bolt not comfortable? When does he not win?
By the time he crossed the line here, in first place, he was jogging, having looked to be halfway down the pack at 40m and then in front by 60m. Those 20m, he kills them every time. He has the speed and only uses it when it’s needed, his better times saved for when he needs them.
Take a look through his history in these early rounds. When Bolt broke the world record at the 2008 Olympics, his opening bid was 10.20sec. When he broke it again a year later, he clocked that same slow time.
So this was an encouraging start to the last dance, with Bolt due to retire after these Championships. Already the stars seem to be in his favour with Andre De Grasse out injured, even if the 30-year-old did leave the track with a gripe about his blocks.
‘That was very bad,’ said Bolt. ‘I stumbled a bit coming off these blocks. I am not fond of these blocks. They are the worst blocks I have experienced. It was not a smooth start. I can’t have that. I have to get this together. It’s shaky.
‘It’s not as firm as I’m used to. But the crowd is always wonderful. They always show me so much love. I’m excited. I’m looking forward to getting to the finals and doing my best.’
Christian Coleman, the fastest man in the world this year with 9.82sec, blitzed his heat in 10.01sec, while Yohan Blake was sluggish in 10.13sec.
Perhaps most intriguingly, Justin Gatlin, the convicted drug cheat, was extremely quick, taking his heat in 10.05sec, despite easing to a jog over the final metres. In the absence of De Grasse, it could yet be an old rivalry that characterises the Bolt farewell.
Of the British trio, Reece Prescod ran an impressive personal best of 10.03sec to qualify third from his heat, knocking out 9.89sec runner Akani Simbine, who was the notable casualty of the opening round.
CJ Ujah, the best home hope, went through in 10.07sec, and James Desaolu was second behind bolt in 10.13sec.
Meanwhile, Laura Muir cantered into the semi-finals of the 1500m, finishing fourth in her heat in 4:08.97 with gas to spare. It was the first of five races she must race in the space of 10 days as she pursues a double assignment of 1500m and 5,000m. Speaking after finishing behind Sifan Hassan, Muir said: ‘The reception was brilliant. I’m lucky I’ve got a lot of championships under my belt now, because to have that support now, I see it as a positive rather than a negative. I’m really happy with where I’m at.’
Britain’s Jessica Judd, Laura Weightman and Sarah McDonald joined Muir in the semi-finals.