Elton Tucker, Assistant Sport Editor

Jamaica's Usain Bolt (centre) competes in his 200-metre semi-final yesterday, along with Britain's Marlon Devonish (left) and Egypt's Amr Seoud. - AP

BEIJING:

WORLD 100 METRES record holder Usain Bolt remained on track for the first men's Olympic sprint double in 24 years when he easily advanced to today's semi-finals.

Bolt, who admitted he was a bit tired after four rounds of the 100 metres and two in the 200m, hinted that he wanted to run fast in the last two rounds of the latter event.

"This is my last individual event so I am just going to go out there and leave it all on the track," he said.

Michael Johnson's record stands at 19.32 seconds and many here think Bolt, after his world-record 9.69 run in the 100m last Saturday, can go under the American's 12-year-old mark.

Bolt won his second-round heat in an easy 20.29. Several other men were faster. The best was impressive Zimbabwean Brian Dzingai who won heat two in 20.23 from American 100m bronze medallist Walter Dix, 20.27, and Jamaica's Chris Williams, 20.28.

Marvin Anderson pulled up with a hamstring injury in second-round heat four and failed to finish.

Delloreen Ennis-London and Brigitte Foster-Hylton will run in today's final of the 100m hurdles but Vonette Dixon (12.84) lost her chance after Sweden's Susanna Kallur fell at the first hurdle and impeded her in semi-final two, which was won in 12.62 by American Damu Cherry.

Tried hard

Dixon tried hard to get back in the race but lost fourth by two-hundredths of a second. American Dawn Harper was second, 12.66, Foster-Hylton third in 12.76 and Great Britain's Sarah Claxton fourth in 12.66.

Foster-Hylton, who said she paused when the Swede fell, said she needed to concentrate more on her lane.

"People can be falling around me in the final. I need to learn to block that out and carry on," she said.

National 110m hurdles champion Richard Phillips and Maurice Wignall were both fourth in their heats and advanced to the next round.

Phillips clocked 13.60 behind world record holder, Cuba's Dayron Robles, who won the heat in 13.39. Wignall clocked 13.61 in heat four which went to American David Payne in 13.32.

The fastest time was returned by American, David Oliver who took heat two in 13.30. Two likely medallists, American Terrence Trammel and China's Liu Xiang, were hit by injuries and failed to complete their heats.

Only Ricardo Chambers survived for Jamaica, after the running of the men's 400m heats.

Sanjay Ayre ran into some fierce sub-45 seconds men and could only place fifth in his heat in 45.66. The heat went to Chris Brown, 44.79, of the Bahamas.

Chambers then advanced from heat four. He placed third in 45.22, before national champion Michael Blackwood was eliminated in heat six where Andrew Steel won in a personal best 44.94. American favourite Jeremy Wariner won the last of seven heats in an easy 45.23.

Kenia Sinclair (third right) in action during the women's 800m final in Beijing yesterday. - Charles Pitt/Freelance Photographer