/ 22 June 2013

Usain bolts to 100m win at Jamaica Nationals

Usain Bolt.
Usain Bolt.

Behind Bolt on Friday was Kemar Bailey-Cole at 9.98 and Nickel Ashmeade at 9.99.

Former world record holder Asafa Powell did not finish in the top three to qualify for the world championships in Moscow in August. Olympic silver medalist Yohan Blake withdrew from the meet because of a hamstring injury. Blake will still compete in Moscow as the 2011 defending champion.

"It's all about getting through and getting it done and that's what I did," Bolt said. He said his start and his "execution wasn't the best" but he was "feeling all right, not too tired."

He said he was fairly pleased with his acceleration – or his "turbo," as he calls it – but it's not yet where he wants it to be. "I've got a lot more work to do," the 100 and 200 world record-holder said after the race, adding, "As long as the coach is not worried, I'm not worried."

Three-time Olympic champion Veronica Campbell-Brown is also missing Jamaica's national championships due to a positive drug test at a meet last month which is being investigated by an anti-doping panel.

A day after Jamaican officials announced Campbell-Brown's provisional suspension, a spokesman for the International Association of Athletics Federations told AP that "all evidence seems to point to this offense being a lesser one." – Sapa-AP