Usain Bolt kicked off his world championships like only the golden Jamaican can — with a blazing start that blew all opposition away halfway through his 100-meter heat Saturday. Â Many people have been overcritical of Bolt thinking he’ll never pass or even match his past performances, even thinking he was beginning to lag. Â I think he’s representing us Jamaicans well. Â Read more after the jump.
Bolt coasted for the second half of the race for the day’s best time of 10.10 seconds, a ho-hum mark by his standards. But because of the way he shot out of the blocks, the result on the scoreboard looked more like two perfect 10s for style.
“I got a great start and I’m happy with that,” Bolt said. “I feel great.”
The Kenyans were perfect twice on the opening day of the championships. The African nation swept the women’s marathon and 10,000 to finish the day six-for-six in medals. No nation has earned a two-event sweep on opening day since the championships started 28 years ago.
Bolt is expected to claim three golds himself by the time the championships end next weekend. And he proved his form is matching his unsurpassed braggadocio.
Two hours before his heat, Bolt was already dancing and prancing in the warm-up area. Getting to the track, he was quickly showing off his Jamaican shirt, slicking his hair and goatee to a crowd that was halved after 53,000 fans celebrated the opening ceremony.
Those who stayed saw an impressive Bolt for 50 meters, showing off the power that earned him three gold medals at both the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2009 world championships in Berlin.
Now he is heading for the tough part — the semifinals and likely final on Sunday. He still has the 200 and 4×100 relays coming up next week.
-AP
