KINGSTON, Jamaica – Jamaica’s Usain Bolt had to make up some ground in his semi-final race to book his place in the men’s 100 final with a win in a time of 9.96 seconds.

The defending champion caused quite a scare after he stumbled from the blocks but managed to maintain his composure to claim the top spot.

“It felt good at the start but don’t know what happened, but not worried,” Bolt told OBSERVER ONLINE after the race.

Jamaica’s Asafa Powell also booked his finals spot in a time of 9.97 seconds.

America’s Justin Gatlin is the quickest athlete into the final, after he won his semi-final race in a time in 9.77 seconds.

The others to line up in the 100-metre final, which gets under way at 8:15 am, are Americans Mike Rodgers (9.86s), Tyson Gay (9.96s) and Trayvon Bromell (9.99s); Canada’s Andre De Grasse (9.96s); France’s Jimmy Vicaut (9.99s); and China’s Bingtian Su, who clocked a national record in 9.99s.

Both Gatlin and Rodgers were assisted by a wind of +0.9m/s in their race, while the other finalists ran against a -0.4m/s wind.

Jamaica’s Nickel Ashmeade did not advance to the finals after he finished sixth in a time of 10.06 seconds.

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