Usain Bolt, Justin Gatlin through to 200m semifinals

Beijing: Usain Bolt was back on familiar territory on Tuesday, running his favorite event and showing off why he is the greatest 200-meter runner of all time. After the intense pressure that accompanied his come-from-behind win over Justin Gatlin in the 100 on Sunday at the world championships, Bolt was all smiles as he coasted into the semifinals of the 200. Gone was any worry about injuries, about his rival, or about stutter-steps that marred his 100 semifinal heat.

 

“It means a lot more to me,” Bolt said of the 200, the event in which he is a three-time defending champion and two-time Olympic gold-medalist. Easing up with 50 meters to go and jogging at the end, Bolt crossed in 20.28 seconds, tied for 13th overall. In the heat after him, Gatlin powered to a time of 20.19. Gatlin also outran Bolt in the 100 heats.

 

“I’m a little worried about my fitness,” said Bolt, now 29 years old. “I’m tired and my legs are still sore, but I'm going to have another bath tonight and hopefully tomorrow, I'll be there.”

 

Gatlin, who has served two doping bans and whose defeat by Bolt was heralded by some as symbolic given the doping issues in which track and field finds itself mired, dominated his heat, winning easily in 20.19sec.

 

Also going through will be Japanese teenager Abdul Hakim Sani Brown, the 16-year-old clocking 20.35sec behind Gatlin in an impressive first outing in the worlds. The Kenyan won the 800 meters at the London Olympics in a world-record time and had not been back to his best since. At the Bird’s Nest, Rudisha rekindled that Olympic spirit, again front-running from the start to hold off Adam Kszczot after the Pole attempted to pass 250 meters from the end but left himself boxed in.

 

Soon, Rudisha was out of reach and finished in a slow 1 minute, 45.84 seconds, almost five seconds off his world record. Nicholas Bett added to the super night for Kenya with victory in the 400-meter hurdles title, winning in 47.79 seconds. Bett had never broken 49 seconds at sea level before heading to China, but now has a national record after his run in the outside lane.

 

In the medal standings, Kenya leads with four gold medals and nine overall, with the United States back in sixth place with one gold and six overall. 

Second is Britain, and like Rudisha, it was a 2012 Olympic champion who came through when Greg Rutherford won his first world title in the long jump with a season-best leap of 8.41 meters.  Fabrice Lapierre of Australia overtook two Chinese jumpers for silver at 8.24.