Usain Bolt into final of Olympic Games 200m but Justin Gatlin eliminated
By Andy Charles
Last Updated: 18/08/16 12:51pm
Usain Bolt's bid for the 'triple triple' is still on track after he cruised into the final of the Olympic Games 200m on Wednesday.
The Jamaican sprint great eased down over the last 50m of his semi-final but still managed to clock 19.78s in narrowly beating Canada's Andre de Grasse.
He is attempting to win the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay titles for the third successive Games after sweeping the titles in Beijing and London.
Bolt and De Grasse cruised clear of the rest of the runners, including Britain's Adam Gemili, and were smiling broadly at one another over the last 10 metres as each slowed down.
"Andre was supposed to slow down," Bolt said. "He didn't. I said, 'What are you doing, it is the semis?'. He said he had to push me.
"I was a bit lazy, I don't know why today, but I executed it."
Gemili finished third in 20.08s but that would prove enough for him to squeeze into Thursday night's final (2.30am BST) as a fastest loser after a nervous few minutes.
He added: "I really tightened up. I'm in a lot better shape than 20.08. I was really disappointed seeing that. But that's a good thing I suppose that I'm not satisfied with that and I will go and push on."
Daniel Talbot ran a fine race in the first semi-final when he came home third behind America's LaShawn Merritt.
Talbot set a new personal best of 20.25s and was one of the fastest losers until Gemili and others passed him.
But there was a massive surprise in the final semi as America's Justin Gatlin and Bolt's team-mate Yohan Blake both crashed out.
Panama's Alonso Edwards won the race in 20.08s, with Dutchman Churandy Martina making it through ahead of Gatlin.
The third British participant Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake finished fifth in 20.25s, a place ahead of a fading Blake.
