Bolt says tight schedule slowed down 100-meter sprinters

Bolt remains on target to leave Rio with a third successive Olympic treble, having won the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay titles in 2008 and 2012.

Jamaica’s Usain Bolt celebrates as he crosses the line to win gold in the men’s 100-meter final during the athletics competitions of the 2016 Summer Olympics at the Olympic stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday.

“I’ve recovered (from the back-to-back 100m races) but I’m a little bit exhausted now”, he said. The charismatic Jamaican is back in business in the 200-meter heats, Tuesday. “I see a lot of the young guys trying to run fast in the heat but for me it is important to win to qualify”.

And while he has not directly talked to Bolt yet, Spencer says he has it on good authority that the runner is impressed with the shot. “I’m exhausted now, but happy to be through”. The legendary athlete silenced all doubts over his form with a brisk 9.86 seconds to win the second semi-final in the event.

Since then he’s become the first British sprinter to go below ten seconds for the 100m and 20 seconds for the 200m, in addition to winning Commonwealth silver and European gold over 200m two years ago. He briefly put his hands together, as if in thanks.

“The coach said “just go out there run the turn and make sure you get the lead going into the straight and keep on to it”.

Gatlin said he had also recovered from Sunday’s 100m final. “The body sometimes checks out, but mentally you’ve got to push through”, he said.

In the most widely cited case of schedule shifting, the opening round of the women’s 200 was moved from Monday evening to the day session at the request of one of America’s best-known athletes, Allyson Felix, who wanted to try for gold medals both the 200 and the 400. “We all want to come together like a brotherhood”. Bolt’s compatriot Yohan Blake, who finished fourth in the 100 on Sunday, was third on the timesheets, easing up over the last 10 metres to finish in 20.13.

Merritt has the best time of the year with 19.74sec, set at the US Olympic trials in Eugene in July.

Other than that little surprise, it was business as usual in the 200 with favorite Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands easily winning her heat and Marie-Joseep Ta Lou of Ivory Coast turning in the fastest time.

Andre de Grasse of Canada took bronze with a time of 9.91 seconds. “To be able to have the respect of my rivals who I line up with, that’s all I really care about”.