Usain Bolt and Justin Gatlin clock fastest times ahead of 200m showdown

Usain Bolt, centre, won his semi-final as he bids to add 200m gold to the 100m title he won on Sunday. Andy Lyons / Getty Images

Usain Bolt and Justin Gatlin set down impressive markers as they ran the fastest times of the 200-metre semi-finals to set up a second sprint showdown at the World Championships.

Bolt, who beat Gatlin when they clashed for the first time this year in the 100m final on Sunday, looked relaxed and took time to chat with a fellow competitor as he approached the line to win his heat with his first sub-20 second time of the year.

The 29-year-old Jamaican, unbeaten in his favourite event at major global championships since he won 200m gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, said he still had something left in the tank for today’s final after finishing in 19.95 seconds.

“Bit tired, as expected,” the world record-holder said. “Just trying to get as much rest as possible and trying to get through these rounds. Right now I’m feeling OK. I didn’t run a hard corner. I ran maybe 90 per cent.

“For me, my 200 is my best event. I live for this, so I’m looking forward to it. I know I’m going to do well.”

Gatlin already ran the third-fastest time of the year in 19.87 seconds to win the second heat, however, getting off to a blistering start and able to ease up slightly in the last few metres before crossing the line.

The 33-year-old American, who has lost five years of his career to doping bans, is unbeaten in the half-lap event since 2013.

Meanwhile, in yesterday’s other track action, South African Wayde van Niekerk took gold in the men’s 400m final.

Van Niekerk became South Africa’s first world sprint champion as he stormed around the one-lap race in 43.48 secs, becoming the fourth-fastest athlete in the event and the quickest non-American.

Defending champion Lawshawn Merritt, who won the world title in Berlin in 2009, ran a personal best of 43.65 secs for silver, while Grenada’s Olympic champion Kirani James claimed bronze in a season’s best of 43.78 secs.

Kenyan Julius Yego produced the longest throw in 14 years to win the men’s javelin final.

His third-round effort of 92.72 metres was the longest since Czech world record-holder Jan Zelezny threw 92.80m in 2001.

“Being the world champion, being from Kenya, it’s unbelievable for me,” Yego said.

“It’s really good for Kenya, too. I knew I could win a medal, but to be world champion is not easy.”

Kenya have won six gold medals in Beijing, with another coming in the women’s 3,000 metres steeplechase as a final lap of 66 seconds was enough for Hyvin Jepkemoi to prevail with a victorious time of 9 min, 19.11 secs.

Cuba’s Yarisley Silva won the women’s pole vault title at the world championships.

Silva, the silver medallist at the London Olympics, vaulted a best of 4.90 metres.

Fabiana Murer of Brazil, the 2011 world champion, took silver with a new South American record of 4.85m.

Zuzana Hejnova of the Czech Republic retained her 400m hurdles title with a convincing victory in the final. Hejnova clocked the fastest time in the world this year, 53.50 secs, to take gold.

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