Usain Bolt didn't disappoint in his first race at the London Olympics. In his heat, he clocked in with 10.09 seconds to finish in first place and qualify for Sunday's 100-meter dash semifinals.
For US residents, the preliminary heats took place a bit too early to watch live. The preliminaries of Bolt and the other sprinters started at 5 a.m. EDT and the 1st round some two hours later at 7:30 a.m. EDT - still a bit early.
Luckily, the 100-meter dash finals on Sunday will begin at a friendlier time. The schedule remains as follows:
Bolt's Sunday, August 5 Schedule:
Men's 100-meter Semifinals: 2:45 p.m. EDT
Men's 100-meter Final: 4:50 p.m. EDT
Although Bolt finished first, his time was the 7th best overall. This however does not imply a slower Bolt since once the lead was secured, the sprinter simply seemed to maintain a comfortable pace.
Other notorious sprinters that qualified for the semifinals (plus their 1st round times) include:
Tyson Gay (USA) - 10.08
Bailey Ryan (USA) - 9.88
Justin Gatlin (USA) - 9.97
Yohan Blake (JAM) - 10.00
Asafa Powell (JAM) - 10.04
Dwain Chambers (GBR) - 10.02
The Guardian newspaper in the U.K. reported that the crowd "roared" with cheer after the Jamaican reigning champion and Beijing gold medalist made his appearance at the Olympic Stadium.
While Usain is favorite to win the event, some believe his teammate, Yohan Blake, will scoop up the gold this year. Do you buy? Or perhaps you'd like to see the Blake beating Bolt in a serious race in the following article?
Bolt's complete Olympic schedule here.