Bolt says 200m is his favourite event

Fastest man on planet keeps up his dream of becoming a ‘legend’

A l a r i c G o m e s

Usain Bolt kept up his dream of becoming a ‘legend’ when he was among the qualifiers to the semi-finals of the men’s 200 metre here yesterday.

Bolt, who won the 100-metre with a new Olympic record of 9.63secs a couple of days ago, eased into top gear and then relaxed further down the straight to win the opening of seven heats with a time of 20.39secs and then came up with his characteristic celebration of pointing towards the sky after the finish.

Bolt’s training partner Yohan Blake says it is possible Bolt’s three-year-old world record of 19.19sec could be under threat in the later rounds. The track is fast and Usain is fast so anything is possible, he says.

On a day that witnessed the shock exit of Liu Xiang from the 110 metre hurdles, it was this bunch of sprinters keeping expectations of a challenging showdown looming large.

Training partner

Leading the fight was Olympic bronze medallist Frenchman Christophe Lemaitre coming in at 20.53secs in the second heat, while Bolt’s training partner Yohan Blake was also impressive with a 20.38secs while braking at the finish line in the fourth heat. However, the ones to watch will be Jamaican youngster Warren Weir as he was effortless in a time of 20.29secs, while Alex Quinonez from Ecuador was fastest in a time of 20.28secs, also a new national record for his country.

“This was an easy run. I am enjoying it,” said Bolt. “This is my favourite event so I am looking forward to it.”

His main challenger for the 200m, Yohan Blake, also negotiated his passage into the next round with ease, as the Jamaican who took the silver behind Bolt in the short sprint won his heat in 20.38sec.

Blake said it was possible Bolt’s three-year-old world record of 19.19sec could be under threat in the later rounds. “The track is fast and Usain is fast so anything is possible,” Blake said.

Challenge

The challenge for the United States will come from Wallace Spearmon, who qualified second in his heat, while his US teammate Maurice Mitchell also went through with a time of 20.54sec to win his heat. Spearmon is bidding to put behind him the disappointment of the Beijing 2008 final when he was disqualified from the bronze medal position for running out of his lane.