Sport
Usain Bolt recovers and wins 100 meters in 9.79 seconds in Oslo
Jamaica’s sprinter Usain Bolt. PHOTO/Joe Klamar/AFP
Usain Bolt recovered from a poor start to win the 100 meters in 9.79 seconds Thursday in the Bislett Games, beating Asafa Powell by 0.06 seconds in the Diamond League meet.
Bolt, the three-time Olympic champion, overtook Powell in the closing strides to remain undefeated this year. The Jamaican star hasn’t lost since failing to defend his title in the 2011 world championships in South Korea after being disqualified in the final for a false start.
Lerone Clarke was third in 10.10, completing a Jamaican sweep.
“When I came out from the blocks, I reacted good. But the execution, because I wasn’t as comfortable as I wanted to be, wasn’t that good during the first 30 meters,” Bolt said. “Asafa got into his running form way quicker than me and got the top speed, while I had to work a little harder to get into my stride. But the good thing is I still got it – I ran past him, so I’m happy.
“I have run world records where my coach has said the race wasn’t perfect.”
Bolt improved his head-to-head record against Powell to 11-1. It was Bolt’s third-fastest time of the season, behind the 9.76 he ran to win in Rome last week and a 9.82 in Jamaica.
Powell, whose only win over Bolt came in 2008 in Stockholm, took plenty of positives from the race.
