Usain Bolt left fuming in the blocks at World Championships in London
By PA Sport
Last Updated: 04/08/17 10:00pm
Usain Bolt was left furious with his performance, despite moving a step closer to a golden goodbye as he cruised through the 100 metres heats at the World Championships in London.
Back at the stadium where the Jamaican declared himself a "living legend" after retaining his 100m and 200m titles at the 2012 Olympics, the 30-year-old had to recover from an awful start to win his heat in 10.07 seconds.
Bolt, who is bringing the curtain down on his glittering career at these championships, was met with the customary huge cheers whenever he appeared on the big screen.
He whispered "number one" when the camera panned to him on the start line, but the shake of the head at the finish was proof he was less than happy with his run.
"That was very bad," Bolt said. "I stumbled coming out of the blocks. I'm not very fond of these blocks. I think these are the worst ones I've ever experienced. I have to get this start together because I can't keep doing this.
"It's shaky. When I did my warm-up it (the blocks) pushed back. It is just not what I am used to, not as sturdy or firm.
The individual career of the world's greatest ever sprinter, and by common consensus the world's greatest ever athlete and track and field's entertainer-in-chief, has just one more day to run.
On Saturday he will look to pocket a 12th world title, to go with his eight Olympic crowns and an underwhelming farewell is almost unthinkable.
He said earlier in the week he wanted to be remembered as "unbeatable" and "unstoppable". He is determined to remain, even in his first two years of retirement, the world champion.
He has had a troubled build-up, the death of close friend Germaine Mason, the former Great Britain high jumper, in a motorbike accident affecting him so deeply that he did not train for three weeks.
But Bolt has grown accustomed to defying doubters and delivering on the big stage.
His last outing before these championships, in Monaco, was a 9.95secs clocking which showed that, yet again, he was coming good at the right time.
No one has dominated the 100m scene this year - 21-year-old American Christian Coleman leads the world rankings with 9.82s - and Bolt's bid has been further boosted by the withdrawal of perhaps his chief rival, Canada's Andre De Grasse, due to a hamstring tear.
Coleman looked impressive in qualifying in 10.01, easing down at the line, while the fastest qualifier was Bolt's compatriot Julian Forte in 9.99.
All three Britons also qualified for the semi-finals, Reece Prescod clocking a personal best 10.03, CJ Ujah stopping the clock at 10.07 and James Dasaolu taking second behind Bolt in 10.13.
The reception for Bolt was in stark contrast to that given to two-time drug cheat Justin Gatlin, loudly booed when he was introduced to the crowd.
The 35-year-old is used to being cast as the pantomime villain, though, and cruised through his heat in 10.05, with more boos greeting him as he crossed the line.
"It's not the panto season," the stadium commentator was even moved to tell the crowd.
On his reception, Bolt said: "The crowd is always wonderful. They always show me so much love and I always appreciate being here."
