Bolt leads Gatlin, Jamaican trio into 100m final

Moscow: Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt remained on course to regain his 100 metres world title as he progressed into Sunday`s final at the World Athletics Championships.

Bolt, the 26-year-old world record holder, shadowed the diminutive American Mike Rodgers for most of his semi-final heat, the third of three. Eyes pinned on the big screen, Bolt was in complete control of the race and edged Rodgers at the line by one-hundredth of a second in 9.92sec. "I`m happy with how my legs felt," said Bolt. "The reaction was okay, the first 10 metres were okay. "The plan for the final is just to execute. World record? I don`t know, we`ll see." The six-time Olympic gold medallist, who also has five world gold medals, has three Jamaican teammates in the final for company: Nesta Carter, Nickel Ashmeade and Kemar Bailey-Cole. They will be joined by Rodgers and his US teammate Justin Gatlin. The fastest losers going through to the eight-man final were Briton James Dasaolu and Frenchman Christophe Lemaitre. Gatlin, 2004 Olympic champion and double world sprint champion in 2005 but who then served a four-year doping ban, had the running of his heat after a false start by China`s Su Bingtian, coming home easily in 9.94sec, with Carter taking second in 9.97. Dasaolu sped off in heat two but was tracked down by Ashmeade, who clocked a personal best of 9.90sec. Bailey-Cole nabbed second in another personal best of 9.93sec, with Dasaolu timing 9.97. "I am just relieved after the shocker I had yesterday. I wanted to come out and do myself justice," said Dasaolu. In the same heat, French hope Lemaitre and Zhang Peimeng were both credited with crossing the line in 10sec flat, a Chinese national record for the latter but still not enough to reach the final. Briton Dwain Chambers, a three-time world 100m finalist, missed out after finishing sixth in his heat won by Ashmeade. "I prepared the best I could and I thought my body could take it. I wanted to make the final so I am disappointed," said Chambers. AFP