Usain Bolt and Justin Gatlin took their first strides toward a 100m final showdown at the World Championships in Beijing, easily winning their heats Saturday to reach Sunday’s semifinals.
Bolt won his opening round sprint in 9.96 seconds, easing up as he crossed the finish line. Earlier, Gatlin took his heat in 9.83 seconds, relaxing through the finish.
“Overall, it was good, I didn’t really use much stress,” Bolt said on the BBC.
Bolt, whose world record from 2009 is 9.58, appears beatable after dealing with injuries since the start of 2013.