Rapturous applause from 80,000 athletics fans greeted the peerless Jamaican sprinter as he strolled onto the track for his 100m heat.
Striding to the starting blocks, the 25-year-old smiled, laughed and played to the crowd in the minutes before his first race.
While his competitors were pictures of intense concentration, Bolt, sporting a green T-shirt with the word “respect” in gold writing emblazoned across the back, bounced, smiled and persistently rubbed his head as the competitors were announced.
As the sprinters were called to their starting blocks, the crowd quietened and every camera in the stadium was focused on one man.
10.08 seconds later Bolt had completed what the world had expected.
When told that he had received a Jessica Ennis-type reception, he responded: “I had expected it. London 2012. They have been saying all year it’s going to be great so I am happy and I’m looking forward to it.”
And what of the race: “It was a bad start, I stumbled but I’m really happy now.”
Asked whether a “95 per cent fit Usain Bolt was good enough to take gold and challenge your great record,” the Jamaican smiled and added: “ We’ll see.”
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