Usain Bolt and Mo Farah strike London

London: Usain Bolt and Mo Farah put recent troubles behind them in the London Diamond League meeting with victories on the track where they won five Olympic golds between them in 2012.

 

Bolt admitted he needed to work on his rusty start ahead of next month’s world championships in Beijing but was justifiably happy with his winning 100m run on his return after injury.

 

The 28-year-old Jamaican, who won Olympic 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay gold in London three years ago, was sluggish out of the starting blocks in the 100m final but managed to ease past Mike Rodgers in the last 10m, winning by 0.03sec in 9.87 seconds.

 

“Yeah, I had a poor start,” said Bolt, who had treatment for a pelvic problem after winning the 200m in the New York Diamond League meeting on June 13. 

 

It was the Jamaican’s fastest time since September 2013, when he clocked 9.80 secs at the Brussels Diamond League meeting.

 

 

Farah thanked the British public for supporting him through a difficult time after being roared to victory by a 41,000 home crowd in the fastest 3000m time of the year — his first race on home soil since doping allegations were made against his coach Alberto Salazar.

 

The 32-year-old Briton, who won Olympic 5,000m and 10,000m gold in 2012, pulled clear of his rivals with 300m to go, crossing the line in 7min 34.66 secs with

Othmane El Goumri of Morocco second in 7:36.71 and Kenya’s Emmanuel Kipsang third in 7:37.05. “The crowd have been amazing with me,” said Farah. 

 

“To come out and support me like that after the last two months was amazing. It’s great to see the public understand and give me support,” he added. 

 

 

Asked if his winning performances — in the heats and final on a rain-soaked Olympic Stadium track — proved that he was still the World’s No.1, the 28-year-old Jamaican replied defiantly: “I was never number two. I am still number one,” said Olympic champion and world record holder Bolt. “I will continue being number one. 

Until I retire, that’s the plan,” added. On 100m times recorded in 2015, Bolt is now ranked number six. Justin Gatlin, who has served two doping bans, tops the list with 9.74 secs and has also run 9.75 secs twice and 9.78 secs..

 

Bolt, however, clearly has room for improvement before he defends his 100m and 200m titles at the world championships in Beijing, which begin on August 22, on the Bird’s Nest track where he won his first trio of Olympic gold medals (100m, 200m and 4x100m relay) in 2008.

 

The Jamaican has won every global 100m and 200m title contested over the past seven years, with the exception of the 100m at the 2011 world championships in South Korea when he was disqualified for a false start. It is a period of sprint domination unmatched in the history of track and field, and despite missing six weeks of competitive action following the New York Diamond League meeting Bolt cannot be discounted from striking gold again.