produced a season's best to win the
100m on his return to the Olympic
Stadium for the Anniversary Games.
A year on from the London 2012 opening
ceremony, Bolt paid his own homage to
last year's Olympics by clinching the blue
riband event in 9.85 seconds.
Before a sell-out crowd, the Jamaican ran
nine hundredths of a second quicker than
he had previously done this year.
Britain's James Dasaolu pulled out
injured before the race.
Bolt got off to a lacklustre start, but the
Olympic champion overpowered his
rivals in the closing stages to dip across
the line three hundredths of a second
ahead of America's Michael Rodgers in
second.
Jamaica's Nesta Carter was third in 9.99
while Dwain Chambers, the only Briton
remaining in the race following Dasaolu's
withdrawal, was fifth in 10.10.
Bolt, who will look to regain the world
title in Moscow next month, was happy
to lap up the adulation from 60,000 fans.
"It's so wonderful to compete in London,
it's a brilliant experience to be here
again," he said.
But the world record holder admitted he
had work to do ahead of the World
Championships.
"My start was poor and I need to work
on that," he added. "To make a perfect
race I need to make a good start and just
get into the race. Hopefully I can make a
good time at Moscow and continue to do
well."
The stadium was hosting an evening of
athletics for the first time since last
summer, when the likes of Bolt, Mo
Farah and Jessica Ennis-Hill whipped the
crowd into a frenzy during an
unforgettable Olympic Games.
Much has changed in this corner of east
London since that glorious sporting
summer. The Olympic Park now
resembles a building site, and gone is the
Olympic flame, but Friday night's capacity
crowd rekindled the spirit of the Games.
For all of the nostalgia, however, it was
effectively the first night of a two-day
Diamond League meeting, and the last
track and field event before the World
Championships.
And for all the Olympic talent on display -
12 gold medallists will compete over the
two days - it was Bolt, the world's fastest
man, who was the centre of attention on
a celebratory evening in the capital.
All eyes were on the 26-year-old for
many reasons. The night began with Bolt
being transported into the arena in a
gigantic metallic vehicle, described as a
"rocket ship".
Such is his box-office appeal - and
importance to a sport which is in the
doldrums because of drug scandals - Bolt
now routinely opens Diamond League
events by driving onto the track, but
seeing the great sprinter in the sort of
contraption more normally found in a sci-
fi movie was a first.
Unsurprisingly, a wall of sound greeted
Bolt's arrival, stirring up memories of the
thunderous noise which filled the
stadium 12 months ago.
The 100m and 200m world record holder
stood on top of the machine, dancing on
the podium and waving his country's flag
during the lap of honour, exhibiting the
showmanship which has made him one
of the world's most recognisable
sportsmen.
But the crowd saved their loudest cheers
for when Bolt brought the curtain down
on an uplifting, albeit sentimental,
evening.
Indeed, if there are doubts over the
credibility of sprinting following the
positive tests of Asafa Powell, Tyson Gay
and Sherone Simpson two weeks ago,
then the thousands of fans at the
Olympic Stadium at least seemed to put
such thoughts to one side as they
revelled in watching Bolt do what he
does best.
British fans will be concerned about the
fitness of Dasaolu after the 25-year-old
withdrew as a precaution because of a
hip injury suffered in the warm-up.
Dasaolu became the second-fastest
Briton in history when he ran 9.91
seconds at the British Championship and
much anticipation surrounded his
appearance alongside Bolt.
The action will continue on Saturday
when Ennis-Hill and Farah, two Britons
who won gold on Super Saturday, appear
on the track where they established
themselves on the world stage.
Ennis-Hill has been troubled with an
Achilles injury throughout the season but
is set to compete in the long jump and
100m hurdles.
Farah will compete in the 3,000m and
many have predicted that the double
Olympic champion will break David
Moorcroft's long-standing British record.
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