KINGSTON – Usain Bolt eased into the finals of the men’s 200m at the Jamaica track and field field championships at the National Stadium after finishing second in his heat.
His training partner and teenage sensation Yohan Blake won the heat in 20.72second ahead of a comfortable Bolt, who eased down to finished second in 20.75. The race was run into a negative 3.6m/s wind.
Also making the finals are former national champion Steve Mullings, winner of his heat in 20.44secs with the fastest time of the rounds and Marvin Anderson.
Anderson, one of the favourites to join Bolt for Berlin in this event got the better of Ainsley Waugh in the third heat.
Bolt should easily run under 20-seconds tonight, although he promised last light that he was prepared to take things easy in this his favourite event.
The women’s race that will feature Olympic champion Veronica Campbell-Brown will run as a straight final.
Delloreen Ennis-London was the fastest qualifier in the women’s 100m hurdles with 13.02sec. Commonwealth Games champion Brigitte Foster Hylton won her heat in 13.13.
Richard Phillips led the way for the men’s in the 110m hurdles with a 13.74sec performance that was pushed back by a -3.3m/s wind. Former national sprint double winner Dwight Thomas won his semi-final in 13.85sec, with Maurice Wignall finishing second in 13.92.
