Rio de Janeiro: Usain Bolt admitted he lacked sharpness after taking gold in a 100-metre race in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday.
The six-time Olympic champion clocked 10.06 seconds to beat Britain’s Mark Lewis Francis (10.42) and Jefferson Liberato of Brazil (10.44) on the Copacabana beach track.
“I had a poor start but I regained some of my poise later in the race,” said Bolt, who was competing in his first individual 100-metre race of the year. “I felt a bit heavy. I need to compete in more races. I will be in better shape after that.”
The 27-year-old thanked the support of thousands of locals who willed the Jamaican on to victory. “The energy here is great. Thank you everybody, it was fantastic.”
Brazilian Rosangela Santos won the women’s event in 11.33 seconds ahead of Jamaica’s Schillonie Calvert and Carmelita Jeter of the US.
Kenya’s Commonwealth Games 10,000 metres silver medallist Florence Kiplagat, meanwhile, warmed up in style for the 2014 Chicago Marathon slated for October 12 with a stunning win at the County Pensions Fund (CPF) Nairobi Diamond 10km run.
Kiplagat finished the 10km course in a time of 31:42.0 to win prize money of $3,000 (Dh11,017) and a diamond with an undeclared value here on Sunday, reports Xinhua.
Irene Chebet was placed second in a time of 31:45.0 whereas third place went to Alice Aprot who stopped the clock in 31.46:0.
“I missed competing at the African Championships in Marrakesh, Morocco, because of visa problems and I was happy to have a race in Nairobi to do speed work,” Kiplagat said during a post-race interview.
“I have been competing in many races and so I have experience, that is why I could manage to outpace my rivals in the last 300m,” she said.
The 27-year-old Kenyan is the current world record holder of the women’s half marathon with a time of 1:05.12 and has represented Kenya in many events from cross-country to marathon.
“This will be the first time for me to compete at the Chicago Marathon. I am preparing myself adequately,” Kiplagat said.
