I’ll be ready for Rio - Usain Bolt
Usain Bolt called his first race since August 29 “rusty,” a 100m win in 10.05 seconds at the Cayman Invitational on Saturday night while his rival, Justin Gatlin was in an impressive winner at last Saturday's Diamond League meeting in Shanghai.
Advertisement
The six-time Olympic champion grimaced after crossing the finish line against a lackluster field, saying minutes later that it wasn’t a smooth sprint, as he expected after a long offseason.
“What time did I run?” Bolt asked an interviewer. “I didn’t even know. … I’m just glad I got out of that one injury-free.”
Bolt’s stated goal was to clock 9.91 seconds, making a bet with friends before the meet.
“I need to get a few more races under my belt,” Bolt, who dealt with an ankle injury in the winter, said last Saturday night. “By [Olympic] trials time, I’ll be ready.”
In 2012, Bolt ran 9.82 and 10.04 in his first two 100m races of that Olympic year.
Earlier Saturday, the second-, third- and fourth-place finishers at the 2012 Olympics also raced 100m at different meets.
Silver medalist Yohan Blake ran 10.03 with a legal tailwind in Germany. Bronze medalist Justin Gatlin ran 9.94 with no wind in Shanghai. Fourth-place Tyson Gay ran 10.03 in Florida, according to L’Equipe.
Bolt is next scheduled to race a 100m on Friday in Ostrava, Czech Republic, against a field that includes Olympic decathlon champion Ashton Eaton.
He’s preparing for the Jamaican Olympic Trials from June 30-July 3, when the top three in the 100m and 200m are expected to make the Olympic team.
Gatlin - Diamond League champion in each of the last three years - clocked 9.94 seconds to win the 100m.
The 2015 World Championship silver medalist came flying out of the blocks and there was no catching him, with Qatar's Femi Ogunode and fellow American Mike Rodgers second and third respectively.
Gatlin said: "I came out here to execute and I know being an Olympic year, it is a long season and my coach and I have a plan.
— L’Equipe