Gay fastest in heats clocking 10.16sec, Bolt clocks 10.20
Olympic champion Usain Bolt and reigning world champion Tyson Gay both cantered through the heats of the men's 100m on the opening day of the World Athletics Championships here on Saturday.
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With the Olympic Stadium bathed in sunshine and temperatures at a balmy 23C (73F), Bolt timed 10.20sec to lead Jamaican compatriots Michael Frater and Asafa Powell into the quarter-finals scheduled for 1650 GMT. But former world record holder Powell, who took bronze in the Osaka worlds in 2007, almost paid the price for easing up too early, eventually finishing third in 10.38sec.
The one shock result in the 12 heats came as the silver medallist from Osaka, Derrick Atkins of the Bahamas, failed to qualify after clocking a disappointing 10.44sec.
In the US camp, defending triple world sprint champion Gay cruised through in the fastest heat time of 10.16sec along with his trio of team-mates Darvis Patton, Michael Rodgers and Monzavous Edwards.
But Gay complained after his heat that his ongoing groin injury had not quite healed.
"I feel okay but my groin felt a little sore," he said. "I just didn't want to waste too much energy getting through. I just wanted to play it safe."
Other pre-race favourites, Daniel Bailey of Antigua - Bolt's training partner - won his heat while Churandy Martina of the Dutch Antilles, fourth at the Beijing Olympics, qualified in third spot in his race.
Briton Dwain Chambers, the world indoor 60m silver medallist who is competing here after having served a two-year doping ban, recorded the second fastest time of the morning, coming home in 10.18sec.
"I'm happy with the time," said Chambers. "The aim is to get through the rounds as easily as possible without using too much energy.
"You don't want to go sub-10sec here that uses up too much energy and digs into your reserves.
"I didn't want to have any doubt about being in the next round so I made sure I didn't ease up," he said, adding that he was confident he could challenge the likes of Bolt and Gay.
"I don't doubt it for a second or I wouldn't be here."
In the men's shot-put, all the main favourites qualified for the final scheduled to start at 1815GMT.
Olympic champion Tomasz Majewski of Poland recorded the longest putt of 21.19 metres on his first effort, with Belarus duo Pavel Lyzhyn and Andrei Mikhnevich close behind.
The American trio of Olympic silver medallist Christian Cantwell, Adam Nelson and reigning world champion Reese Hoffa also all qualified although the latter failed to hit the minimum qualification standard of 20.30m.
Aside from the men's shot putt, the evening session will also see the women's 10,000m final.
Britain's Jessica Ennis sat in pole position on 2,267 points after the first two events of the heptathlon, recording field leads of 12.93sec in the 100m hurdles and 1.92m in the high jump. Olympic champion Nataliya Dobrynska was in sixth spot on 2,016.
The heptathletes will later compete in the shot put and 200m. The second day of competition on Sunday involves long jump, javelin and the 800m.
In the women's 400m, American Sanya Richards struck the first blow in her bitter rivalry with Olympic and world champion Chrstine Ohuruogu, winning her heat in a conservative 51.06sec.
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