Bolt, running into a 0.2m/sec headwind was racing in lane four next to rival Asafa Powell, who was quicker out of the blocks, second in 9.97 ahead of Michael Frater.
Olympic 100 metres champion Usain Bolt won the Jamaican title over rival Asafa Powell on Saturday and then declared that American world champion Tyson Gay had little chance of breaking his world record. Bolt, who holds the record with 9.69 seconds set at the Beijing Games last year, ran home in 9.86, the fastest wind-legal time in the world this year at the National Stadium.
Bolt, running into a 0.2m/sec headwind was racing in lane four next to rival Asafa Powell, who was quicker out of the blocks, second in 9.97 ahead of Michael Frater (10.02). Gay ran a speedy, albeit wind-assisted 9.75 seconds in his first 100 metres of the season at the US world championship trials in Eugene, Oregon on Thursday, and said after the race that he felt he could break Bolt’s record if he could improve his start.
“Personally, no disrespect to Tyson but that is going to be a hard for task for him,” Bolt told reporters. “Tyson is more of a 200 runner than a 100 runner so it is going to be very hard. He had a lot of (wind) assistance for that time. It is going to be very hard for him.” Gay failed to qualify for the finals at Beijing after injury hampered his preparations but he is set for a showdown with Bolt in the world championships in Berlin in August.
Home in a canter
Bolt overtook Powell midway through the race and had enough of a lead to finish with some ease in front of a cheering crowd. “It was good. I am just happy that I finished injury-free and I am feeling good,” he said. Bolt said that it will be an interesting season as soon as Powell gets into shape.
Powell was pleased with his result, set against a 0.2 negative wind, given his ankle was still troubling him. “It was a fairly good race because I am basically running on one leg, so I’m fairly happy. The aim was just to finish in the top two,” he told reporters.
“The ankle has really surprised me — I thought it would be gone by now but still there,” he said, adding that he was in some discomfort after three rounds of racing.
In the women’s 100 metres, Beijing gold medal-winner Shelly-Ann Fraser produced an impressive 10.88 to outpace Kerron Stewart (10.93) with Sheri-Ann Brooks some way back with 11.16.
Fraser, who had her appendix removed in April was sharp out of the blocks during a noisy start.
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