Mixed fortunes for SA in 100m heats

Rio de Janeiro - Jamaican sprint star Usain Bolt safely negotiated the first round of the Olympic men's 100m on Saturday in the first step on his quest for an unprecedented "treble treble".

Bolt, seeking an third consecutive Olympic title in the blue riband event, clocked 10.07 at the Olympic Stadium.

The 30-year-old world record holder, greeted with acclaim by the large vociferous crowd, will also bid to defend his 200m and 4x100m relay golds for the third time later in the week.

American Justin Gatlin posted the fastest time of 10:01 for Sunday's (Monday from 02:00 SA time) semi-finals.

From a South African point of view there were mixed fortunes.

Akani Simbine, running in the eighth and final heat, took the honours in 10:14.

However, his compatriot Henricho Bruintjies, competing in heat 6, finished sixth, posting 10:33 which wasn't quick enough to progress to the next round.