USAIN Bolt ran his fastest time of the season to win his Olympic 200m semi-final as Justin Gatlin missed out on a place in the Rio 2016 final.The Jamaican has already won the 100m and is aiming for an eighth Olympic gold by retaining his 200m title.
But American Gatlin, who won silver behind Bolt in the 100m final, only finished third in his semi-final.
Britain’s Adam Gemili, 22, will compete in Thursday’s final after qualifying as one of two fastest losers.
Bolt, who clocked 19.78 seconds, has won all seven of his previous Olympic finals, claiming gold in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay at both Beijing 2008 and London 2012.
The 200m world record holder was laughing as he crossed the line just two hundredths of a second ahead of Canada’s Andre de Grasse.
Bolt’s previous best this year was a time of 19.89 at the London Anniversary Games.
Gemili finished third in 20.08, with his place in the final confirmed following the third semi-final.
Fellow Briton Danny Talbot missed out, despite running a personal best of 20.25 in the first semi-final.The top two in each semi-final qualified automatically, along with the two fastest losers.
Gatlin’s time of 20.13 was not enough to qualify ahead of Gemili or Turkey’s Rami Guliyev, while another big name – Yohan Blake – also failed to progress.
The Jamaican, who won silver behind Bolt in London four years ago, has been hampered by injury over the past couple of years and faded to finish sixth in 20.37 seconds.(BBC Sport)