Bolt sets year’s fastest 100m time in Korea

The Bolt is Back, and he delivereed on his promise to post a "very fast time" in his first 100 metres of the season in South Korea. The Jamaican cruised home in 9.86 seconds - the fastest time of the year so far, despite a less than impressive start.

Prior to the race Bolt had proclaimed that he was in awesome form and wanted to dip below the 9.58 seconds he ran in winning the world championship in Berlin last year.

"It's my first time in South Korea so I'll do my best and, hopefully, break the meeting record," said Bolt, who recently ran the fourth fastest 200m time in history – 19.56s in Jamaica. "I need to know where I'm at, so I'll be going out there and putting my all into it. It will be a very fast time."

As it was, he burned off the opposition to finish yards ahead of fellow Jamaican Michael Frater in second. His time was 9.86 seconds - almost slow by his standards, but still the fastest legal time in the world this season.

The 23-year-old Bolt burst onto the scene in 2008, winning gold in the Olympic 100m in a then-world record time of 9.69s and the 200m, also a new world record of 19.30s. Then last year he repeated the feat in the Berlin World Championships and established himself as arguably the most exciting sprinter of all time.

With no major championships for Bolt this season, he'll be channelling his energies into the Diamond League where he will be racing against compatriot Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay of America, both of whom were reduced to also-rans in last year's World Championship. But Powell looked in good form last Friday in Qatar, winning the opening leg of the Diamond League 100m in a wind-assisted time of 9.81.

And with the second leg slated for Sunday in Shanghai, Bolt looked in ominous form in South Korea. Worryingly for his rivals, the 6ft 5in Bolt says he still has plenty of room for improvement. "My start has been my weakest point so I've been working on that," said Bolt. "This year I'm still focusing on trying to get everything right. I think the key thing for me is that, trying to get it right even when I'm out of competition, that's when I get it fresh in my mind."

As expected, none of the other competitors got anywhere near him. Frater finished in a time of 10.15 with Mike Rodgers in third. ·