Bolt chases Olympic history in men’s 100 meters

Jamaica's Usain Bolt, center, Trinidad and Tobago's Richard Thompson, right, and Britain's James Dasaolu compete in a men's 100-meter heat during the athletics competitions of the 2016 Summer Olympics at the Olympic stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Aug. 13, 2016. Jamaica's Usain Bolt, center, Trinidad and Tobago's Richard Thompson, right, and Britain's James Dasaolu compete in a men's 100-meter heat during the athletics competitions of the 2016 Summer Olympics at the Olympic stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Aug. 13, 2016.

By Associated Press August 14, 2016 4 min read

Photo Gallery

River Trail 15K @ Burns Park — 02.04

Jesse Garrett, Jesse Jones, Ashley Padgett and Kim Rutledge

Tyler Eddings, Brent Morrison, Dianne Morrison and Larry Schmidt

Kathy Langford, Sheri Nicholls, Lauren Davidson and Staci Mashburn

John Harrison, Stacy Ohlde, Tim Gorman, David Edwards and Dave Whittenberg

John Hunnicutt, Dave Wilkinson and Joe Cordi

Melody Shoptaw and Adeline, Heather and Nathaniel Geoghagan

Imari Dellimore, Tracy Tungac and Brian Sieczkowski

Britney Wigginton, Missy Grande, Brenda Ransom, Gabby Halverson, Gary Davis and Eugene Atha

Hosted by the Arkansas Running Klub, the annual race is held to raise funds that will pay for more water fountains along the River Trail. The 15K started and finished at Burns Park.

RIO DE JANEIRO – As Usain Bolt churned down the Olympic track, his main rival was trying to get in front of a TV monitor to catch a quick glimpse of the race.

Justin Gatlin missed the Jamaican’s first-round heat. That’s OK, the American sprinter has seen plenty of Bolt to know exactly what to expect.

Bolt is a huge favorite to win an unprecedented third straight Olympic title in the 100 meters on Sunday. And that’s despite pulling out of the Jamaican trials last month because of a sore hamstring and wishing he had more races coming into Rio de Janeiro.

It certainly hasn’t changed his focus.