A tired Usain Bolt and an emotionally fatigued Justin Gatlin progressed toward their second blockbuster sprint showdown of the world championships by easing through the 200m heats yesterday.
Bolt, who beat Gatlin to retain his 100m title at the Bird’s Nest on Sunday, shot out of the blocks and led for the entire race before easing up over the final 15m to cross the line in 20.28 seconds.
The 29-year-old Jamaican said he was still feeling the effects of the 100m, but will be looking to raise the pace in today’s semi-finals before peaking for tomorrow’s final, where he could win a fourth successive 200m gold.
Photo: EPA
“Tired, tired, tired,” the Olympic champion and world record holder told reporters. “This means a lot more to me. I’m a little worried about my fitness and I need to work a lot over 200m, but I’m a better technical runner over the 200m, so we’ll see what happens. I’m tired and my legs are still sore, but I’m going to have another bath tonight and, hopefully, tomorrow I’ll be there.”
Gatlin, unbeaten in the 200m since 2013 and the 2005 world champion at the distance before his second doping ban, was even more dominant in the following heat, maintaining his form through the line to win in 20.19.
The 33-year-old American, who owns the fastest time of the year (19.57), said he would have eased up, but for the presence behind him of Japan’s Abdul Hakim Sani Brown, who finished second in 20.35.
Photo: Reuters
“The 100m final was a difficult one for me, also emotionally, but now I’m going for 200m. I have two days to go. My race would have been slower, but Sani pushed me so much. This young guy from Japan is phenomenal,” Gatlin said.
In other events yesterday, Olympic champion and world-record holder David Rudisha ran from the front and trusted his finishing pace to regain the world 800m title.
Still not back at his best after the knee injury that cost him his chance to defend the world title in 2013, the Kenyan kicked for home at the end of the back straight and crossed the line in one minute 45.84 seconds to win gold.
In the absence of defending champion Mohammed Aman of Ethiopia and London Olympic silver medalist Nijel Amos, who both failed to reach the final, Pole Adam Kszczot finished strongly to win silver in 1.46.08.
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Amel Tuka finished third in 1.46.30 to win a first world championship medal for his country.
Ethiopian favorite Genzebe Dibaba stormed to the women’s world 1,500m title as she stamped her authority with a sumptuous display of controlled running.
The world record-holder strolled through a pedestrian first lap before taking the front, tracked by Kenyan Faith Kipyegon and Dawit Seyaum, also of Ethiopia.
However, a second kick 200m from the line saw Dibaba stretch away to win in 4 minutes, 08.09 seconds, Kipyegon taking silver in 4:09.96 and fast-finishing Ethiopian-born Dutchwoman Sifan Hassan third in 4:09.34.
Dibaba last month ran 3:50.07 to shatter the world 1,500m record set in 1993 by China’s Yunxia Qu, who competed under the guidance of controversial coach Ma Junren.
She also holds the world records for the indoor 1,500, 3,000 and 5,000m events, continuing a family tradition that includes elder sister Tirunesh holding the world record in the outdoor 5,000m.
Cuba’s Denia Caballero landed a shock win in the discus yesterday, her first round effort of 69.28m beating all her rivals including defending champion Sandra Perkovic of Croatia.
Olympic champion Perkovic salvaged the silver medal with a late effort of 67.39, having gone into the final round facing the prospect of going home empty-handed after a mediocre series of throws that contained three fouls.
The bronze went to Germany’s Nadine Mueller, with her best of 65.53 also coming in the first round.
Caballero is small by discus standards, at 1.75m, and she was dwarfed by her fellow medal winners as they lined-up for the mandatory post-event photographs.
Meanwhile, Nicholas Bett handed Kenya a first-ever medal in the men’s 400m hurdles when he held his nerve for gold.
Bett clocked a world-leading time of 47.79 seconds, with Russian Denis Kudryavtsev taking silver in a national record of 48.05 seconds.
Jeffrey Gibson of the Bahamas claimed bronze in 48.17, also a national record.
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