BERLIN, Germany CMC – Super sprinters Usain Bolt and Tyson Gay were fashionably different in yesterday’s quarter-finals as they remained on course for their intriguing collision in the men’s 100-metre final at the 12th IAAF World Championship.

Jamaican Olympic champion Bolt jogged to a second-place finish in 10.03 seconds behind Antiguan Daniel Bailey (10.02) in his quarter-final Heat 5, after American Gay, the reigning world champion, extended himself more in breezing 9.98 seconds to win Heat 4.

The pair continued to look solid for their eagerly awaited clash in today’s final while Bailey and Jamaica’s former world record holder Asafa Powell also delivered auspicious quarter-final performances.

Powell was the quickest of the round with a 9.95 clocking in his heat.

Caribbean athletes were also prominent in the women’s 400 and men’s 400-metre hurdles preliminaries.

Bolt and Bailey, training partners at the Kingston-based Racers Track Club, toyed with their opponents and both wore huge smiles over the last 20 metres and looked superb as they eased home unchallenged in Heat 5.

American Monzavous Edwards finished third in 10.15 seconds and Churandy Martina, of the Netherlands Antilles, was eliminated with a fourth place finish in 10.19 seconds.

Gay fought off Jamaican Michael Frater (10.09) in Heat 4 with Barbadian Andrew Hinds (10.23) eliminated in fourth place.

Powell, running in lane one, outgunned his rivals in Heat 3 with a solid early race burst and eased home in his quick 9.95 seconds, defeating American Darvis Patton (10.05) and Trinidad and Tobago’s Marc Burns (10.12).

Powell had a slight scare in the morning with a third place finish in the first round in 10.38.

He was just a shade away from elimination but said following his evening session run that he was complacent in his morning run.

“I think I underestimated my opponents in the morning. I was just running too easily,” he said.

Britain’s Dwain Chambers (10.04) won the first quarter-final heat ahead of T&T’s Olympic silver medallist Richard Thompson (10.08) and Michael Rodgers gave the Americans a second quarter-final triumph, clocking 10.01 to capture Heat 2.

Among the quarter-final casualties were Kittitian ex-world champion Kim Collins (10.20), Guyana’s Adam Harris (10.39), Bahamian Adrian Griffith (10.28), and T&T’s Emmanuel Callender (10.27).

Earlier in the first-round heats, Bolt, who won three gold medals – 100, 200 and sprint relay — at the Beijing Olympics last year, had exerted just enough energy he needed in his opener, clocking 10.20 to beat Zambia’s Gerald Phiri (10.30).

Gay (10.16) defeated Collins (10.28) in his heat during the first-round which saw Bahamian Derrick Atkins being a huge casualty.

Atkins, the silver medallist behind Gay at the Osaka World Championship two years ago, was fifth in his heat in 10.44 and failed to advance.

In the women’s 400-metre preliminaries, American Sanya Richards, a beaten favourite in Beijing last year, clocked 51.06 seconds to win Heat 5 ahead of Britain’s Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu (51.30).

The Jamaica-born Richards, aiming for her first major global title, was the second fastest winner of the round. Only Russian Antonina Krivoshapka (51.03) went faster.

Jamaicans Novlene Williams-Mills and Shericka Williams easily advanced.

Williams-Mills, the Osaka bronze medallist, won Heat 2 in 51.55 seconds.

“I am very pleased. I went through an easy round and did not put too much pressure on me,” Williams-Mills said.

Williams, the Olympic silver medallist in Beijing, clocked 51.23 for second to Botswana’s Amantle Montsho (50.65) in Heat 3.

Other Caribbean qualifiers included Guyana’s former Commonwealth Games champion Aliann Pompey (51.38), Kittitian Tiandra Ponteen (51.98), Vincentian Kineke Alexander (52.44), and Jamaican Christine Day (53.13).

Bahamian Christine Amertil was disqualified in Heat 4.

Veteran Jamaican Danny McFarlane and the outstanding T&T CARIFTA champion Jehue Gordon were among six Caribbean athletes advancing in the men’s 400-metre hurdles during the evening session.

The 37-year-old McFarlane, a silver medallist at the Athens Olympics, clocked 48.65 for second in Heat 3 to the evening’s fastest winner, T&T-born American Kerron Clement (48.39).

Gordon, who captured the CARIFTA Games 400/110m hurdles double in St Lucia four months ago, set a national record 48.66 for third behind Clement and McFarlane, while pushing former world champion Felix Sanchez (48.76) back into fourth spot.

Sanchez advanced as one of the fastest losers.

Jamaican Isa Phillips, the world’s third fastest man over the distance so far this year, won his heat in 48.99.

“It went as planned, we got out comfortably,” Phillips said.

“It was good to be comfortable so I could still reserve (some energy) for the next two rounds,” Phillips added.

Other Caribbean runners advancing were Puerto Rico’s Javier Culson (49.27) and Cuban Omar Cisneros (49.27).

Trecia Smith, the 2005 World Championship gold medallist, is the only Caribbean entry to advance in the women’s triple jump final.

She posted 14.21 metres in Group B qualifying but her Jamaican team-mate Kimberly Williams was eliminated in spite of a 14.08m personal best in Group A.

Grenada’s Patricia Sylvester (13.22m) was also eliminated.

China’s Limei Xie (14.62m), and the Cubans Mabel Gay (14.53m) and defending champion Yargelis Savigne (14.53) were the leading qualifiers.

The meet’s first gold medal went to Russian Valeriy Borchin, who won the women’s 20-kilometre walk in one hour, 18 minutes, 41 seconds.

Kenya’s Linet Chepkwemoi clocked a season’s best 30:51.24 to land the women’s 10 000-metre title over the Ethiopian pair of Meselech Melkamu (30:51.34) and Wude Ayalew (30:51.95) and American Christian Cantwell won the men’s shot put gold at a world-leading 22.03 metres.