Bolt back to business as usual after false-start debacle

By John Bagratuni Sep 2, 2011, 8:22 GMT

Daegu, South Korea - Usain Bolt finally came out of hiding Friday five days after his first major career nightmare, and he was his usual self.

Pre-race showboating in the morning included the famous bow-and-arrow gesture, some hip-wiggling and a round of applause for those who came to see him. He was slightly less flamboyant in the evening but the Koreans loved every second of it and screamed as if he was the most prominent K-pop star.

Bolt had the slowest reaction time in each race but easily won the heat in 20.30 seconds and the semi-final in 20.31.

Apart from the reaction times, that is pretty much how Bolt has also been ahead of finals in previous championships.

But this time around the Jamaican three-times world and Olympic champion was coming off a shock false-start disqualification in the 100m final on Sunday after which he fled Daegu stadium.

Apart from a brief statement issued on Monday, Bolt finally broke his silence after the semis, although he said he would not explain what exactly happened in the 100 until a news conference after the 200.

'The race felt great. I was definitely comfortable in the blocks and am trying to enjoy myself,' Bolt told a scrum of reporters in the evening, his usual relaxed self.

'Gold is the most important thing, not the time ... The 200 is my favourite discipline. A false start in the 200 would have been much harder.'

'I was disappointed after the 100 but got a lot of support from fans around the world.'

Much has been made of the 100m disaster, with many from the athletics community saying that the world record holder Bolt may have felt pressure like never before in a below-par season, and a real danger of be beaten on the track for the first time at a big event.

Bolt should feel safer in the 200 as that is the distance he started his career with and leads the 2011 list with 19.86 seconds.

But American contender Walter Dix, third-best this year on 20.02, actually believes that Bolt is beatable in the 200 as well, given that Bolt's 2011 best is far off his world record 19.19 seconds from 2009.

'I'll definitely go for gold here,' said Dix. 'I am not sure about how ready Usain is. The heat was quite slow. I think that this time it will not be as easy for him as in the past years.'

According to former champion Maurice Greence, that is the biggest danger Bolt faces this season: the loss of his invincible aura as people realize for the first time that Bolt is human after all.

'He allows himself to get beaten because he is not running these times,' said Greene.

Frenchman Christophe Lemaitre has no illusions, though, even if he dominated the semis in 20.17 seconds.

'I am really hungry for a medal. Bolt is the one to get the gold medal. But after him, lets see,' said Lemaitre.

Not really surprisingly, Bolt shares this assessment although he says he takes every other runner serious.

If I get a good start and execute there is no one who can beat me,' he said.

Read more about Bolt