Usain Bolt turned the Olympic Stadium into his stage again for his first race at the Rio Games. With an easy win in his 100-meter heat, backed up by the trademark showmanship, he did not disappoint his crowd.
— Rio 2016 (@Rio2016_en) August 13, 2016All of a sudden, the 60,000-capacity stadium was filled with noisy fans on a sunny Saturday, a stark contrast with the opening day.
His time of 10.07 seconds trailed that of his longtime rival Justin Gatlin by .06 seconds, but Bolt was running into a headwind while the American had the wind on his side.
In his heat, Gatlin showed just as much poise — without the showmanship. He shot out of the blocks and only let up at the very end for the best time of all racers.
Others to go through were Nickel Ashmeade and Yohan Blake of Jamaica and American Trayvon Brommell.
Bolt is bidding for his third straight title in the 100 and his third straight sprint triple. Gatlin is aiming for a second Olympic 100 title to add to the one he won at the 2004 Athens Games.
Usain Bolt cruises to victory in 100m heat & here are the best photos of his brief time on the track. #Athletics pic.twitter.com/kkUmzaX8at— Rio 2016 (@Rio2016_en) August 13, 2016