USAIN BOLT’S LEGENDARY SPRINTER BID TO END HIS CAREER ON TOP OF THE WORLD REMAINS ON TRACK

Drawn in the final heat, Bolt made a shocking start and was as far back as sixth but he moved through the gears mid-race to win in 10.07sec, the slowest winning time of the first round.

Afterwards he revealed that he had been having trouble with the starting blocks provided on the warm up track and was not confident in them.

“That was very bad, I stumbled coming out of the blocks,’’ he said.

“I’m not very fond of these blocks. I think these are the worst ones I’ve ever experienced. I have to get this start together because I can’t keep doing this

“It’s shaky. When I did my warm up it pushed back. It is just not what I am used to. Not as sturdy or firm.’’

“I had to work hard but I’m actually glad I had to push myself more to blow the cobwebs away. I’m feeling ok but it wasn’t a great race.’’

However he said the way he picked up his speed mid-race gave him confidence for tomorrow’s semi-final and final.

“I didn’t run as smooth as I’d like to but the way I got back into the race shows I am in decent form,’’ he said.

“After the semi-finals I can say what is what.’’

Bolt revealed that his father Wellesley wanted him to keep running after the championships but he confirmed that he would be “happy to retire’’ at the end of the meet.

There was no doubting who was the hero and who was the villain according to the London crowd.

American Olympic silver medallist Justin Gatlin, who has served two doping suspensions, was booed when he was introduced before the fifth heat.

It took three attempts to get a clean start but Gatlin dominated to win in 10.05sec and was then booed off the track. He said he was “not worried about the crowds’’.

Bolt’s Jamaican teammate Julien Forte was the only man to break ten seconds in the first round, winning the third heat in a personal best of 9.99sec.

US college champion Chistian Coleman, who has the fastest time of the year (.9.82sec), set the early pace, winning the opening heat in 10.01sec into a headwind.

Other heat winners included China’s Su Bingtian (10.03sec) and Japan’s Abdul Hakim Sani Brown (10.05sec).

In what might be a good omen for Bolt, British distance champion Mo Farah won an unexpectedly dramatic 10,000m final to claim his fifth consecutive global championship in this event, a run that began with his Olympic gold medal victory in the same venue in 2012.

Farah, 34, was badly clipped while leading with 320m to go. He stumbled, stepped onto the infield to stop himself from falling, but made an immediate recovery and used his blistering late speed to clinch his third consecutive world title in this event to go with his two Olympic gold medals.

He crossed the finish line with his arms outstretched and his mouth open, securing the title to the roar of an ecstatic British crowd.

Afterwards a relieved Farah said he was desperate to keep his feet and deliver for his home crowd, in his last championship before he shifts his focus to the marathon.

“I just didn’t want to go down, I didn’t want to let the people down,’’ he said.

Farah needed to run the fastest 10,000m for three years (26min49.51sec) to fend off the rising Ugandan world junior champion Joshua Cheptegei, who took the silver medal in a personal best of 26:49.94. Olympic silver medallist Paul Tanui of Kenya took the third position on the podium in 26:50.60.

When he moved to the front of the race after 4000m, he gestured to the crowd to raise their voices and he then fed off their energy.

“Tonight I had to get my head around it because I was a little bit emotional at the start,’’ he said.

“I was trying to play with their heads and get the crowd into the race because it wasn’t an easy race.

“What a way to end my career, in London and it was very special. The guys did put it out there.’’

At the other end of the field, Australia’s national champion Patrick Tiernan seemed to have a brain fade late in the race, slowing to a jog for the last few laps as he realised that his hopes of a top ten finish were gone.

The US college cross country champion had excellent form coming into the championships but did not produce it last night. He was lapped by the leading men with less than 800m to go and trailed home last in 29:23.72, almost two minutes outside his best time, set just three months ago.

“It’s really disappointing,’’ the 22-year-old Queenslander said.

“I knew I was in good shape. It was just bad. It just started hurting and then I just didn’t want to get lapped. It was horrible. I’ve got the 5000m, though. I’ll be back.”

Former world championships finalist Zoe Buckman was the first Australian to progress to the next round in her event, qualifying for the semi-finals of the 1500m after finishing ninth in the fastest heat of the day.

Buckman was well positioned throughout and crossed the finish line in 4:05.44, just outside her season’s best.

Meanwhile, world long jump silver medallist Fabrice Lapierre scraped through to the 12-man final in the most unlikely of circumstances.

Lapierre, who has had a difficult season, was clinging to 12th spot with a best of 7.91m late in the third round, but the Olympic champion Jeff Henderson was still to jump.

Even Lapierre thought he was out.

However the American flopped on his final attempt, clearing only 7.84m and Lapierre went through to tomorrow’s final.

“It was pretty nerve-wracking waiting,’’ he said.

“Once I saw Jeff go up I thought I was no chance but I managed to sneak in. I just can’t wait to come back tomorrow. The crowd is awesome.”

Lapierre has had runway issues all season and again struggled with his timing at the take-off board.

“The first one was just getting used to the runway, and the second one I went for the qualifier,’’ he said.

“I think I would have got there had I hit the board, I didn’t hit the board on any of my attempts tonight, and if tomorrow I can do that then I’m in the mix for a medal.’’

Fellow Australian Henry Frayne, who came into the competition with a hamstring injury, fell agonisingly short of qualifying with a best of 7.88m which equalled the 13th biggest jump of the round, but left him in 14th place on a countback.

Pole vaulter Liz Parnov had a similar fate, finishing 14th (4.35m), two places short of the final stated news on theautralian.com.au  reported by sports reporter Nicole Jeffery

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