Usain Bolt overcame a slow start to win the 100 meters at the Ostrava Golden Spike meeting Wednesday as he gears up for a final World Championships in London this summer. In his second 100m outing of his final season, the Jamaican was slow out of the blocks but jumped ahead before the halfway point to finish in a time of 10.06 seconds, just edging Yunier Perez of Cuba, who ran a personal best 10.09 seconds. Jak Ali Harvey of Turkey was third in 10.26. Bolt, who has eight Olympic golds and 13 world championship medals, will retire after August's World Championships. The 30-year-old said he was not happy about clocking over 10 seconds for the second straight race, although he remained confident about the remainder of the season. "I am not happy with the time but I am just getting to my running," he told the sellout crowd after his ninth and final appearance at the meet in the eastern Czech industrial city. "I have some training to do... But I will be fine." Bolt has become a regular at the Ostrava meet and his fans showed their appreciation at the end of the night, holding up placards to form the Jamaican flag as Tina Turner's "Simply the Best" played in the stadium. "The biggest thing is always the crowd... That is why I keep coming back here. You guys are wonderful. Thanks for everything," Bolt said. He later told reporters his focus was on staying healthy, including taking care of his back as he gets older. "But I did not get injured, that is key," he was quoted as saying by Czech news website idnes.cz. The only other race he's scheduled before the worlds is the Diamond League event in Monaco on July 21. He's still undecided about other meets.
With Bolt moving closer to retirement, a number of athletes could be set to emerge from his shadow. Among them is South African Wayde van Niekerk, who broke the 300m world record earlier in the evening, rubbing Michael Johnson out of the record books for the second time in less than a year. The 24-year-old, who beat Johnson's 400m best at last summer's Rio Olympics, recorded a time of 30.81 seconds in the rarely-run 300m, bettering the American's previous mark of 30.85 seconds set in 2000. Van Niekerk's time also beat the Ostrava meeting record set by Bolt in 2010. Isaac Makwala of Botswana was second in31.44, ahead of another South African, Clarence Munyai, who clocked 31.61. "I have been improving in each and every one of my events so it is a great step for the year and I am feeling quite confident for the rest of the year," the sprinter, who is expected to run the 200m and 400m at the World Championships, told Czech Television. "I was ready to dig deep and just get used to the feeling of the longer events. I am pleased with today." Britain's Mo Farah held on to beat Mathew Kimeli of Kenya in the 10,000m.
The British distance specialist, who defended his Olympic titles in both the 5,000 and 10,000 at the Rio Games last year, plans to retire from track to move to road races after the worlds. Farah held off a challenge from Kimeli, surging past him with 200 meters to go to win in 27:12.09. Kimeli clocked 27:14.43. Isaac Makwala of Botswana was second in 31.44, ahead of another South African, Clarence Munyai, who clocked 31.61. Olympic champion Thomas Rohler was in a class of his own, winning the javelin competition with a throw of 91.53 meters, only slightly off the 93.90 he achieved in Doha, Qatar, last month — which was the longest throw in more than 20 years. Fellow German Johannes Vetter finished second at 87.88. Christian Taylor of the United States, the Olympic triple jump champion, won with a meet record of 17.57 meters. Marie-Josee Ta Lou of Ivory Coast took the women's 200 in 22.44, followed by Alyssa Conley of South Africa in 23.03 and Spain's Estela Garcia in 23.17. Germany's Pamela Dutkiewicz remained unbeaten this season, claiming the women's 110-meter hurdles in 12.72 for her seventh straight victory. Rikenette Steenkamp of South Africa finished second in 12.99 in her personal best time. Kenya's Benjamin Kigen pulled away with a lap to go to win the 3,000 steeplechase, clocking a personal best 8:11.54 to beat Ethiopia's Getnet Wale and Hailemariyam Amare. Olympic steeplechase champion Conceslus Kipruto of Kenya was a last-minute withdrawal due to an unspecified injury. — Agencies
