Usain Bolt cruises to victory in semifinal heat to make 200 meter final
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RIO DE JANEIRO — Jamaican sprinting icon Usain Bolt all but strolled into the final of the 200 meters Wednesday night, advancing his pursuit of a historic third straight Olympic sweep of the 100 and 200.
Bolt pushed himself slightly more in the semifinal than he did in the first round, when he qualified tied for 15th. Twenty-one sprinters advanced to the semis, and Bolt won the second of three heats with a time of 19.78 seconds, the third-best time this year.
Bolt wanted to jog to the finish, like he did in Tuesday’s first-round heat, but Canada’s Andre De Grasse (19.80) pushed him to run through the line.
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American Justin Gatlin failed to qualify for the 200-meter final, finishing third in his heat with a time of 20.13 behind Panama’s Alonso Edward and Churandy Martina of the Netherlands.
The 200 final is set for Thursday night. After that, Bolt’s last Olympic race will come Saturday in the 4×100 relay. If he wins gold in both of those, he will tie Paavo Nurmi of Finland and American Carl Lewis for the most gold medals in Olympic track and field history with nine.
The only Olympic athlete with more than nine golds is Michael Phelps, who has 23.
