![OSTRAVA: Usain Bolt of Jamaica (C) competes on his way to winning the 100m race at the Golden Spike meeting.—AP](https://i.dawn.com/primary/2016/05/5740b3b73652e.gif)
OSTRAVA: Sprint king Usain Bolt ramped up his preparations for the Rio Olympics by pulling away to post a time below 10 seconds in the 100 metres at the Golden Spike meeting on Friday.
The Jamaican, making his second start this season, faced little competition in his annual trip to the Czech event as he ran 9.98 to finish 0.23 ahead of Ramon Gittens of Barbados and and 0.27 ahead of third-placed Hassan Taftian.
American Olympic decathlon champion Ashton Eaton pulled out of what would have been their first head-to-head meeting after feeling tightness in his leg during the long jump.
Bolt said he was not “fully happy,” blaming a poor first part of the race on failing to meet his plan of 9.8 seconds.
“My first 40m was kind of sluggish,” he said. “My reaction was good, I think the only problem I had was support behind the start was not there, I didn’t execute, I didn’t get the power through the first 40. So I had to work a little bit harder at the end to get up the speed.”
Bolt is also scheduled to race in the London Diamond League meet on July 22 in his only other competition in Europe, two weeks before the Rio Games where he will defend his 100, 200 and 4x100 relay titles.
“This is a very important season. This is a very big year for me,” he added. “I have a lot work to do. I just need to continue, need more races to go.”
Eaton, a decathlon world record holder who is also set to defend his title in Rio, was due to take on Bolt for the first time but decided against running after the long jump.
Czech Radek Juska won the event with a distance of 7.92 metres. Eaton finished third, having recorded 7.55 after completing only two jumps.
Jarret Eaton led the American 1-2 finish in the 110m hurdles, in a personal-best 13.25 seconds to edge Jeff Porter by 0.17.
In a clash of Olympic gold contenders, French pole vaulter Renaud Lavillenie equalled his season best as he cleared 5.83 metres, beating Canadian world champion Shawnacy Barber who managed 5.70.
Thomas Roehler of Germany dominated the javelin with a world-leading throw of 87.37m.
In the 200m, Briton James Elligton won in a tight finish in 20.35 seconds, edging Likourgos-Stefa Tsakonas of Greece by 0.01.
Also, Javon Francis of Jamaica won the 400m in 44.87, while LJ Van Zyl of South Africa was the fastest in the 400m hurdles in 48.67.
Christine Day of Jamaica took the women’s 400m in 51.09, well ahead of Carline Muir of Canada who clocked 51.84 while Jessica Beard of the United States had 51.88 in third.
World 400m hurdles champion Zuzana Hejnova of the Czech Republic finished third in her first race of the season, clocking 55.69 in a race won by Joanna Linkiewicz of Poland in 55.40.
Another world champion, Yarisley Silva of Cuba, was also beaten in her season debut by Czech Jirina Ptacnikova who cleared 4.60 meters in the pole vault.
On Thursday, Poland’s Anita Wlodarczyk won the women’s hammer throw, smashing the meeting record by almost half a metre with a throw of 78.54.
Published in Dawn, May 22nd, 2016
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