Jamaica's Olympic champion and world record holder was, however, running into a headwind as he beat Kim Collins (pictured below, right) of Saint Kitts and Nevis and American Darvis Patton.

"I'm disappointed," said Bolt, who had talked of wanting to run around 9.7.

"At the start I felt pretty much no energy.

"I guess it was one of those bad days.

"I wasn't feeling as strong as I usually feel out of the blocks, my legs felt dead.

"I don't know what the reason is.

"I'll need to go back to the drawing board, talk to the coach."


Bolt was slow out of the blocks, after South Africa's Simon Magakwe was disqualified for a false start, but easily reeled in Collins, who crossed the line in 10.19 with Patton three one hundredths of a second further back.

The 25-year-old Bolt said the false start did not affect him, but his reaction time of 0.180 off the line suggested otherwise.

Britain's Dwain Chambers was fifth in a season best 10.28, but failed to reach the Olympic A qualifying time of 10.18 that would have guaranteed him eligibility for selection.

Chambers, 34, served a two-year doping ban, but was cleared to compete at the London Games when the Court of Arbitration (CAS) overruled a British Olympic life ban on drug offenders.

In the men's 400m, Olympic champion LaShawn Merritt of the United States won in 45.13, with South Africa's double amputee Oscar Pistorius, who will seek medals at both the Olympics and Paralympics this summer, a dismayed last in 47.66.

His time was far away from the 45.70 he needs to ensure his participation at the London Games this summer.

"The time was so bad!" Pistorius said.


"I don't know what to say.

"I can run that fast at the end of a tough training session or straight after getting up out of bed in the morning.

"The start actually wasn't that bad, but between 30 and 120 metres, there was nothing, far too slow.

"You could call that a really bad day.

"But I have no one else to blame apart from myself."

Bolt's compatriot Veronica Campbell-Brown (pictured above, centre) won the women's 200m in 22.38, 0.07 off the season's best set by her US rival Carmelita Jeter.

Wallace Spearmon of the United States won the men's 200m in 20.14 while fellow American Sanya Richards-Ross beat Britain's Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu in the women's 400m in 50.65, with Ohuruogu registering 51.19 in conditions which had turned cold and windy.

The men's 110m hurdles was won by another American, Dexter Faulk, in 13.13, and Briton Tiffany Porter also matched her season best to claim the women's 100m hurdles in 12.65.


Olympic javelin champion Czech Barbora Spotakova (pictured above) overcame her poor record at home meets with a world-leading 67.78 metres with her main rival, Russia's Mariya Abakumova, second with 64.34m.

"I felt better than ever before at this meeting," Spotakova said.

"I had the feeling my best throw was taken down by wind a little, I think I have a few metres left [to improve].

"I am pleased I delivered a balanced series of attempts, that's a good base for one attempt to fly further.

"And I am happy I beat her," she added, referring to Abakumova.

Vitezslav Vesely capped a great night for the hosts in the javelin by beating Olympic champion Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway with an 85.67m effort.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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