Usain Bolt, Justin Gatlin win 100m heats

pmnews-placeholder
Usain Bolt in action
Usain Bolt in action

Usain Bolt raced for the first at the 2016 Olympics and won his opening round 100m heat in 10.07 seconds. Bolt is attempting to become the first man to three consecutive Olympic 100m gold medals.

Justin Gatlin clocked 10.01 seconds, the fastest time of the first round, to win his heat by .19 seconds.

“It felt good—in control,” Gatlin said to NBC’s Lewis Johnson. “Coach told me to go out there, control the race from the beginning, stay tall to the end and just get ready for the next day.”

Trayvon Bromell finished second in his heat in 10.13 seconds. It was the first Olympic race for Bromell, 21.

Related News

“Now I got the jitters out of the way, I’m ready to keep moving forward,” Bromell said to Lewis Johnson.

Justin Gatlin also won
Justin Gatlin also won

Fellow U.S. sprinter Marvin Bracy was third in his heat. The two fastest runners in each heat automatically advanced to the semifinals, but Bracy advanced because he was one of the next eight fastest runners.

Canada’s Andre De Grasse, the 2015 Olympic 100m bronze medalist, and Jamaica’s Yohan Blake, the 2012 Olympic 100m silver medalist, were among the other sprinters who won 100m heats.

The men’s 100m semifinals will take place Sunday at 8:00 p.m. ET. The men’s 100m final will be held later that night.

Load more