Athletics: Bolt back on track for 200m

Usain Bolt of Jamaica celebrates winning his men's 200 metres semifinal. Photo / Getty Images

There was never much danger of lightning striking twice as Usain Bolt got back on his mark in the world championship arena in Daegu.

Five days on from the false start disqualification that cost him his 100m title, the "Lightning Bolt" was taking no chances on his return to the track for the first two rounds of what for the Jamaican now is his redemption event, the 200m, with the gold medal race due early this morning.

In the first-round heats, the world's fastest man held himself firmly in check in his blocks until the bang of the starter's gun. His reaction time, 0.314s, was slower than all but one of the 53 sprinters in the seven heats, yet Bolt still strolled comfortably to victory, clocking 20.30s.

In his semifinal he lingered in his blocks again, registering the slowest reaction in his race, and again the second slowest overall, but coasted to victory in 20.31s. Christophe Lemaitre clocked a faster winning time in the opening semifinal, 20.17s, but the Frenchman pushed hard all of the way to the line.

The only man capable of stopping Bolt in the final today is the person who scuppered him in the 100m final: himself. And, after the anguish of last Sunday, do not expect Bolt to be struck down by another self-inflicted false start.

"I will try not to false start again," he said. "It's compelling to stay in the blocks as long as possible. I will try to listen to the gun and be focused, because it's the 200m and there's room for mistakes."

The mistake Bolt made on the starting blocks in the 100m final, of course, was not holding back and risking giving his rivals a split-second advantage, but jumping the gun.

"It was my fault," he insisted, rejecting the suggestion that his training partner and eventual race winner, Yohan Blake, had triggered his false start by twitching in the lane beside him.

"I can't blame anybody else. I false-started.

"After the race I just thought, 'I've got to move on from this. I've got the 200m to go. I can't get stressed about this."

After the travails of last Sunday - when he ripped his shirt over his head and banged his fists in frustration against the trackside wall - Bolt was back in sangfroid mode, clowning to the trackside television cameras and playing to the gallery of the crowd.

"I'm back to my old self," he said. Which is bad news for the rest of the field in the 200m final.

- Independent