Akani Simbine was smooth, and Usain Bolt got the crowd going at the Rio Olympic Stadium on Saturday as the fastest men on earth tried to qualify for the 100m semi-finals.
South African record holder Simbine lined up in the eighth and last heat of round one, and what worked in his favour is that he knew exactly what time was required to go through to Monday’s semi-finals.
Up to that point, the slowest qualifying time was 10.20, so that gave Simbine a target to aim for, and he duly produced the goods.
Simbine asked the starter to stand up as there was considerable noise in the stadium, but that didn’t unsettle him either.
Japan’s Ryota Yamagata caught everyone by surprise as he sprung out of the blocks – he had the quickest reaction time, but Simbine was second in that regard anyway.
The 22-year-old kept his cool despite Yamagata taking the early lead, and gradually hauled in the Japanese athlete with a smooth running action that appears to have been fine-tuned during his Olympic training camp in Gemona, Italy over the last few weeks.
Usually someone who relies on his quick feet more than a rhythmical technique, Simbine with some real style to stop the clock at 10.14, with Yamagata second in 10.20.
The top two athletes in the eight heats qualify automatically for the semi-finals, along with the next eight fastest after that. Such a rule saved Frenchman Jimmy Vicaut – who has run 9.86 this year – from elimination after he finished fourth in his heat in 10.19.
But there was no such luck for the second South African, national champion Henricho Bruintjies. The “Blitz from Klapmuts” was drawn in Lane 3 alongside Jamaican star Yohan Blake, with the 22-year-old doing well out of the blocks. But Bruintjies couldn’t get into a rhythm and started falling out of contention from the 50-metre mark already.
Bruintjies has been inconsistent in 2016, and despite a wind-assisted 9.89 in May, he hasn’t been at his best in recent weeks and it showed on Saturday. But he would be bitterly disappointed, though, as a time of 10.18 – which was well within his reach – would’ve secured his passage to the semi-finals. Blake won the heat easily in 10.11.
But the sparse crowd at the Joao Havelange Olympic Stadium made a lot of noise when Bolt was introduced in the blocks, and the big Jamaican defending champion lapped it up.
The 29-year-old, though, again battled to get out of the blocks as he had the second-slowest reaction time. Andrew Fisher of Bahrain made a great start, and led for most of the way, but Bolt produced just a bit of power towards the end to win in 10.07 as he turned his head to his opponents before crossing the line.
Veteran American Justin Gatlin – the fastest man in the world this year with a 9.80 – set the pace again to qualify quickest with a 10.01.
Now it’s about getting through to Sunday night’s final (3.25am SA time on Monday), with the semi-finals set for 2am SA time on Monday. Fortunately for Simbine, he has avoided both Bolt and Gatlin as he will run in the first semi-final, with Bolt in the second and Gatlin in the third.
There was disappointment for the two other South African track athletes on Saturday, with both Tsholofelo Thipe and Justine Palframan being knocked out in the first round of the women’s 400m.
Thipe made a strong start in her heat, but tumbled over the line in fourth position in 52.80, while Palframan ended seventh in her heat in 53.96. American world champion Allyson Felix won her race in 51.24.
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