There, only a short hike from the main stadium, he didn’t have to worry about jumping the gun.
Bolt missed out on defending his 100-meter title Sunday when he jumped from the blocks early at the world championships. He was disqualified by a highly debated zero-tolerance false start rule enacted last year.
“He’s human, isn’t he? I always knew he was human,” said his coach, Glen Mills. “He will pick himself up. He’s a champion.”
Just not on this night.
Bolt knew instantly it was his error, too. Soon after the gun went off, soon after taking a few steps out of the blocks, another gun blasted — the knot-in-your-stomach sound for any sprinter.
Bolt’s eyes grew big. He pulled his shirt over his face, then ripped it off and whipped it around in his hand. Grudgingly, Bolt left the stage he has dominated since the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Instead, it was left to another Jamaican to wrap himself in the country’s flag — Yohan Blake, a 21-year-old up-and-comer whom former Olympic gold medalist Maurice Greene predicted would win.
Blake finished in a modest time of 9.92 seconds, 0.16 of a second ahead of American rival Walter Dix. Kim Collins of Saint Kitts and Nevis, the 2003 world champion and now an aging 35-year-old veteran, was third.
“Definitely, I wasn’t focusing on beating Usain,” Blake said. “I was just focusing on finishing in the top three.”
This was also a day that Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee sprinter known as the “Blade Runner,” showed he indeed belongs on the same track with able-bodied athletes at big meets. Springing along on his carbon-fiber blades, Pistorius advanced to the semifinals of the 400.
“A big sense of relief,” he said.
On the track, it was a big show for the Americans. Defending champion Trey Hardee and Ashton Eaton gave the U.S. its first 1-2 decathlon finish at the worlds. Brittney Reese defended her long jump title and Allyson Felix breezed into the finals of the 400 with an easy win in her heat.
This entire competition was setting up as a stroll for Bolt. Jamaican teammate Asafa Powell withdrew just before the event began because of a groin injury, and American rival Tyson Gay was out with a hip injury. As if to underscore how easy this might be, Bolt cruised through his previous two rounds.
