All set for showdown

It was not the best of starts for Usain Bolt. But the world's fastest man moved into the semifinals of the 100m dash with ease at the Olympic Stadium in London yesterday.Photo: AFP

The gauntlet has been thrown. Amidst raucous scenes at the Olympic Stadium in London, Justin Gatlin, Yohan Blake and even Ryan Bailey put down a marker towards the fastest man in the world, by not only winning their individual heats but also setting better times than the Jamaican sprint king, as the blue riband event of London 2012 kicked-off yesterday.
Bolt was as usual unbothered, professing himself satisfied with his run, despite what seemed like a slip at the start.
“I am glad it [the slip] happened now. I made a bad step and stumbled a bit,” he said. “I expected it, I am running well. I am happy,” said Bolt, who qualified for the semifinals as only the ninth fastest runner.
The results of the heat would probably not have pleased the packed stands at the Olympic Stadium, but Bolt more than anyone knows that medals are not handed out at this point. The Jamaican seemed to be saving his best despite the sterling build-up to the fourth heat, in which he was participating.
The crowed roared in approval when Bolt's name was announced at the stadium to the tune of Sweet Dreams by Eurythmics. “I travel the world and the seven seas, everybody is looking for something,” went the words of the song. It was clear that at the Olympic Park on Saturday, the only thing everyone was looking for was Usain Bolt.
Soon there was a hush and then the starting gun went off.
Bolt started like he always does -- not very well. “We all know the last 50-meters is my strong point,” he later said. And he should be glad that it is, as he seemed to saunter through in that leggy style of his with a time of 10.09 seconds. It was still enough to win his individual heat but it was still way off the marks set by his compatriots Asafa Powell and Yohan Blake.
In fact Bolt's time was the slowest amongst the winners of all the seven heats that took place in a brilliant and cool Saturday morning.
Tyson Gay won the first, clocking what seemed like a good time of 10.08. But Justin Gatlin blew that out of the water running a sub-10 second heat by clocking 9.97. And the USA continued their strong showing, as the relatively unheralded Ryan Bailey blew the competition away with a stunning 9.88. Powell posted 10.04 and Blake a flat 10.
But a competitor of Bolt's class will not have been fazed. The Jamaican knows that he is the marker by which everyone judges themselves and with a partisan crowd egging him on, the onus is on Bolt to grab these London Games by the scruff of the neck.
London 2012 has lacked any dominating characters like in Beijing in 2008, and while Bolt managed super-human feats in China, Beijing was also Phelps's Games. This time though, the void is palpable and waiting to be filled by someone.
The stage is now set for one of the most thrilling 100-metre races of all time. London 2012 will see four of the fastest men in the world together; a feat not witnessed since electronic timing was introduced. Bolt, Gay, Powell and Blake will be joined by Gatlin, whose non-drug-induced personal best of 9.80 ranks him at seventh in the all-time list. All are safely through to the semifinals and on Saturday's evidence all will safely make it through. The margins could not be any closer when the big final is contested tonight.
'Sweet dreams are made of this, who am I to disagree' goes the words of the song. If Bolt pulls something out of the bag tonight, no one will disagree.