Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake are turning looking bored while running insanely fast into an art form. The pair easily qualified for the semifinals in the men’s 200 meter. Also qualifying were all three Americans taking place in Round 1 of heats, including Wallace Spearmon.
Men’s 200m: Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake Jog Into Semifinals
The 200m is the second of three events for Blake and Bolt, and another race in which they are expected to finish with gold and silver medals, with most of the drama coming in wondering which Jamaican sprinter will bring home the top spot. While their races are intensely exciting, their heats are about 150 meters of sprinting and 50 of taking it easy, which is a pretty entertaining show of skill in its own right. Each runner finished first in his heat despite races more than a second worse than their personal bests.
Spearmon represents America’s best shot at medaling: he ran the third-fastest time in Beijing and expected to claim a bronze medal but was disqualified for accidentally stepping into the lane of a fellow competitor on the turn. He finished second in his heat with a time of 20.47, but can do better. Maurice Mitchell won his heat with a time of 20.54, while Isiah Young was the third and last to qualify from his heat with a time of 20.55.
The semifinals are Wednesday at 3:10 p.m. Eastern, with the finals taking place on Thursday at 3:55 p.m.
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