Usain Bolt eases to victory to reach Olympic 100m semi-finals

Defending Olympic champion Usain Bolt eased through to the semi-finals of the men's 100m in a time of 10.09 seconds.

He recovered from a slow start to progress, while world champion Yohan Blake ran 10.00 in his heat to also book his place in the semis.

American Ryan Bailey posted the fastest time, a blistering 9.88secs.


British teenager Adam Gemili (10.11) finished second behind Asafa Powell, with Dwain Chambers posting 10.02, one of his fastest times.

Team-mate James Desaolu also qualified, as the top three from each of the seven heats progressed automatically, as well as the two fastest losers, for Sunday's semis.

Tyson Gay and Justin Gatlin also looked impressive, Gay winning his heat in 10.08 and Gatlin posting 9.97.
Bolt looked in good shape to defend his title, and he was pleased to recover from a stumble at the start of his race.
"I expected the reception in London and I was looking forward to it," he told BBC Sport. "I stumbled at the start but I'm glad it happened now and not in the final."

Gemili, who has only recently switched to sprinting from football, said after posting 10.11: "To come to the Olympics and to walk inside the stadium with the cheer is unbelievable for me.

"Things are happening quickly this year, but I have worked hard. I only started in athletics in January and the results are showing now.  (BBC.co.uk)