Olympics: Bolt Eases Into His Sprint for 100m Gold

The three favorites for the most eagerly-awaited 100m in two decades coasted through to the second round of the competition this morning, where they will be joined by all three British athletes in the field.

In front of a near-capacity crowd at the Bird's Nest that suggested fascination with the fastest men in the world remains undimmed by cynicism or scandal, the frisson of excitement that greeted world-record holder Usain Bolt, running in the first of 10 first-round heats, was palpable.

With Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay, both former holders of the world mark also in the field, expectations are high that the final will come close to matching the drama of the 1988 100m final, in which Ben Johnson led home Carl Lewis, Linford Christie and Calvin Smith. Should the Beijing edition also manage to avoid the scandal that followed the Seoul race, athletics may have gone some way to restoring public confidence.

Bolt arrives in Beijing as favorite for the blue riband event having decimated the world record earlier this season, and he cantered to victory with ease, clocking 10.20 apparently without effort. His focus and self-assurance was clear from his reaction as the heats began with a false start. Fabio Cerutti, the Italian athlete on his immediate left, was first to break, and Cuban Jenris Vizcaino instinctively followed. Bolt, sandwiched between the two, did not flicker on his blocks, a demonstration of supreme composure at the start of a week that sees him favorite to complete the print double.

Equally assured was Bolt's compatriot Powell who, appearing in the very next heat clocked 10.17. The early rounds of the 100m are about conserving energy rather than making grand statements, but Powell will have been pleased to have gone marginally quicker than his compatriot. Gay was the slowest of the three, recording 10.22 in the fifth heat.

As impressive as any of them however was Briton Tyrone Edgar who qualified fastest of all with a highly impressive 10.15 that suggested he is capable of lowering his personal best of 10.06 as the competition progresses. He may have to if he is to reach the final.

Joining Edgar in this evening's second round is Craig Pickering, who followed Powell home in 10.21, and Simeon Williamson, on paper the best of the Britons, who survived a false start in the last heat to sneak into an automatic place in the second round in 10.42.

All will return to the track this evening for the second round.