Bolt eases through 200m heats
Usain Bolt showed no ill effects from his record-breaking heroics on Sunday evening as he cruised into the second round of the 200 metres at the World Championships today.
Bolt broke his own 100m world record in Berlin at the weekend with a stunning run of 9.58 seconds, taking 0.11secs off the mark he set in the Olympic final in Beijing.
But the Jamaican superstar insisted he would put the partying on hold with the 200m heats and quarter-finals taking place today, and the 22-year-old looked suitably refreshed as he eased to victory in his heat in 20.70s.
Bolt believes he will be unable to break his world record of 19.30 in the 200m after missing a month of training earlier this season following a car crash in Kingston, which required minor surgery to remove thorns from his left foot.
However, the task of simply winning the title has at least been made easier by the absence of defending champion Tyson Gay, who has withdrawn with a groin injury.
Gay finished second to Bolt in the 100m in 9.71s – the third fastest of all time – but revealed afterwards his groin was “barely hanging on”.
Ireland's Paul Hession had earlier also made it through to the second round of the 200 metres, finishing second in his heat.
