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Usain Bolt Peeps The Competition While Running

by Abby Johnston

As he continues his quest to become the first man to win three consecutive Olympic golds in the 100-meter race, Usain Bolt peeped his competition. Literally. Photos of the sprinter's race on Saturday show him repeatedly glancing over at the other racers to check out their progress during the first-round qualifying heat, and finally staring straight into the camera at the finish line. But I guess when you're one of the fastest people in the world, you have the time to concern yourself with such things.

Bolt won his heat with a time of 10.07 seconds, taking him easily to Sunday's semi-finals race. Bolt pulled ahead midway through the race, easily overtaking the front-runners well before the finish line. The six-time medal winner announced last week that this would be his last time at the Olympics, and he seems intent on making it count.

While I don't imagine running at the speed of sound isn't easy, Bolt certainly made it look it was. The internet went crazy with Bolt's seemingly casual approach to, you know, making history, posting photos of the runner seeming completely at ease as everyone else raced for their lives. But if there was any strain associated with Bolt's 100-meter spring, he didn't show it.

Bolt's attributed what he thought was a shaky start to the a case of the Saturdays. "It wasn't the best start, it felt kind of sluggish," Bolt told the Associated Press. "I'm not used to running this early in the morning in any championships."

Yeah, I usually can't cover 100 meters in 10 seconds and change early in the morning, either. Bolt and I have that in common, I guess. Still, if he lost ground at the beginning of the race, he seemed to have relaxed enough to effortlessly finish ahead of the other runners on Saturday. By the end, it didn't seem like he was worried about much of anything.

Bolt may have seemingly jogged the last part of the race in preparation for Sunday's semi-finals race, but he's got other contenders who might not be so easy to beat. The United States' Justin Gatlin had the fastest time out of Saturday's heats, winning his at 10.01 seconds. Bolt might need to watch out for Gatlin as they close in to the finals.