Rio Olympics: Usain Bolt, Justin Gatlin Yohan Blake all through to 100m semi-finals
British pair CJ Ujah and James Dasalou also through
Saturday 13 August 2016 19:15, UK
Jamaican sprint star Usain Bolt safely negotiated the first round of the Olympic men's 100m on Saturday in the first step on his quest for an unprecedented "treble treble".
Bolt, seeking a third consecutive Olympic title in the blue riband event, clocked 10.07 seconds at the Olympic Stadium.
The 30-year-old world record holder, greeted with acclaim by the large vociferous crowd, will also bid to defend his 200m and 4x100m relay golds for the third time later in the week.
Afterwards Bolt said he was pleased to have got off the mark without any problems.
"I'm feeling good. I'm happy. As I said, I've got the first one out of the way so I'm happy about that," Bolt said, predicting a fast semi-final.
"It's definitely going to be a good semifinal. There are a lot of guys running fast. It's good. It gets you running and gets you up to speed to go out there in the finals."
Fellow Jamaican Yohan Blake emerged victorious from his heat in 10.13s, with American Justin Gatlin also safely through clocking 10.01s to win his heat.
Britain's CJ Ujah qualified in 10.13s and compatriot James Dasalou is also through after racing in Bolt's heat and finishing as one of the fastest losers.