RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Usain Bolt dismissed questions about his fitness, but admitted that his first race at Rio 2016 was well below the standard he wants it to be.
The Jamaican sprint sensation clocked 10.07 seconds to win his heat of the men’s 100m inside the Olympic Stadium on Saturday morning, but revealed that his start wasn’t the best and added that he felt a bit “sluggish.”
He hopes to have it fixed for Sunday’s semi-final.
Bolt, who looked tense during his warm-up, got away to a slow start before stepping on the gas in the middle of the race to take the heat.
The six-time Olympic champion agreed that he needed to work on a few things, but said the hamstring, which forced him to pull out of the Jamaica Trials last month was “good.”
“It wasn’t the best start,” Bolt told reporters after the race. “I feel kind of sluggish.
“I think it’s the fact that it’s the morning. I’m not usually running this early in the morning,”
“Hopefully, tomorrow I’ll feel much better.”
The 29-year-old, who turns 30 on August 21, has the fourth fastest time heading into the semi-final behind American rival Justin Gatlin, who posted a time of 10.01 to win his heat.
Bolt, who won three gold medals in the sprints at Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympic Games, will try to repeat those feats in what is expected to be his final Olympic.
