Bolt, Gatlin qualify for World 200m final

Farah stumbles into 5,000m final

AFP, BEIJING: Sprint king Usain Bolt and American rival Justin Gatlin swept into the 200 metres final with consumate ease on Wednesday as they prepare to resume hostilities at the world championships. Gatlin, a two-times doping offender looking to avenge his defeat by Bolt in the weekend’s 100m, clocked the fastest time of the semi-finals in 19.87 seconds in Beijing, with Bolt second fastest in 19.95 going into Thursday’s dust-up.
Smiling as he decelerated well before the line, defending champion Bolt, also the Olympic gold medallist and world record holder, indulged in similar kidology in the 100m before smashing Gatlin’s hopes in the final. Meanwhile, Mo Farah’s bid to defend his double world distance titles almost came unstuck on Wednesday as he was tripped coming into the final 200 metres of his 5,000m heat. Great Britain’s Farah, who won 10,000m gold on Saturday, was in control of the race throughout but was clipped coming into the final bend, leaving him with a cut toe and causing him to stumble badly before correcting himself.
To gasps from the Bird’s Nest crowd in Beijing, Farah relaunched himself to finish second behind Ethiopian winner Yomif Kejelcha, the world’s fastest
performer in 2015, who timed 13min 19.38sec in the hot morning sun.
Another Ethiopian, Hagos Gebrhiwet, won the first heat, clocking 13:45.00 to set up a mouth-watering clash in the final scheduled for 1130GMT on Saturday.
“It felt all right. I nearly went down — again!” laughed Farah in reference to stumbling also in the 10,000m final. “I hope it doesn’t come a third time, that would be bad luck. “Somebody just caught my legs. It’s the way I run, I’ve got long strides so I don’t blame anybody. It just happens. That’s why sometimes I just have to be at the front or the back or stay on the outside.”
The Somali-born 32-year-old said that victories in the heptathlon and men’s long jump by Great Britain teammates Jessica Ennis-Hill and Greg Rutherford had not only eased the pressure on him but also highlighted an “amazing team spirit”. “It brings back ‘super Saturday’ with myself, Jess, Greg,” he said, referring to the first night of action at the 2012 London Olympics when all three won gold. Victory for Farah on Saturday would signify an unprecedented seventh successive win in the 5,000 or 10,000m at a world championships or Olympics stretching back to 2011.

 

Bolt, Gatlin qualify for World 200m final

Farah stumbles into 5,000m final

AFP, BEIJING: Sprint king Usain Bolt and American rival Justin Gatlin swept into the 200 metres final with consumate ease on Wednesday as they prepare to resume hostilities at the world championships. Gatlin, a two-times doping offender looking to avenge his defeat by Bolt in the weekends 100m, clocked the fastest time of the semi-finals in 19.87 seconds in Beijing, with Bolt second fastest in 19.95 going into Thursdays dust-up. Smiling as he decelerated well before the line, defending champion Bolt, also the Olympic gold medallist and world record holder, indulged in similar kidology in the 100m before smashing Gatlins hopes in the final. Meanwhile, Mo Farahs bid to defend his double world distance titles almost came unstuck on Wednesday as he was tripped coming into the final 200 metres of his 5,000m heat. Great Britains Farah, who won 10,000m gold on Saturday, was in control of the race throughout but was clipped coming into the final bend, leaving him with a cut toe and causing him to stumble badly before correcting himself. To gasps from the Birds Nest crowd in Beijing, Farah relaunched himself to finish second behind Ethiopian winner Yomif Kejelcha, the worlds fastest performer in 2015, who timed 13min 19.38sec in the hot morning sun. Another Ethiopian, Hagos Gebrhiwet, won the first heat, clocking 13:45.00 to set up a mouth-watering clash in the final scheduled for 1130GMT on Saturday. It felt all right. I nearly went down again! laughed Farah in reference to stumbling also in the 10,000m final. I hope it doesnt come a third time, that would be bad luck. Somebody just caught my legs. Its the way I run, Ive got long strides so I dont blame anybody. It just happens. Thats why sometimes I just have to be at the front or the back or stay on the outside. The Somali-born 32-year-old said that victories in the heptathlon and mens long jump by Great Britain teammates Jessica Ennis-Hill and Greg Rutherford had not only eased the pressure on him but also highlighted an amazing team spirit. It brings back super Saturday with myself, Jess, Greg, he said, referring to the first night of action at the 2012 London Olympics when all three won gold. Victory for Farah on Saturday would signify an unprecedented seventh successive win in the 5,000 or 10,000m at a world championships or Olympics stretching back to 2011.