Carmelita Jeter of the United States competes in the Women's 100m Round 1 Heats on Day 7 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 3, 2012 (© Getty Images)
Carmelita Jeter produced the fastest time of the night in the first round as six other of the finalists at last year's World Championships competing on the very fast London track all qualified for tomorrow night's semi-finals.
The American and the performances of the other medal contenders promising a super quick final, saw each of them run faster or match last year's global Championships heats in Daegu where Blessing Okagbare and Ivet Lalova shared the leading time of 11.10.
Jeter the world's second fastest ever performer with a time of 10.64 reining herself in 10 metres from the line and enjoying the backing of a 1.5 m/s wind, rocketed to a superb mark of 10.83 only 0.02sec shy of her season's best.
Jeter’s performance was the fastest ever recorded in the first round heats in the history of the Olympic Games and the equal fourth fastest time ever run at the Olympic Games!
"I just came out to execute the race like my coach told me," said Jeter making her Olympic debut. "Everyone's running to their best - there's two rounds to go. I'm just going to prepare for the next round."
Jamaica's Veronica Campbell-Brown and Kelly-Ann Baptiste from Trinidad who took the silver and bronze medals behind her in Korea, also demonstrated they are in mint condition when coasting to unchallenged winning times of 10.94 and 10.96.
Campbell-Brown the most experienced sprinter in the field said: "I'm happy to be here. I believe a true champion needs to be able to deal with fear. God is in control but I've come to win and stay focused."
Okagbare who came to the Games with a rich vein of form to her name including victories at the recent Samsung Diamond League meetings in London and Monaco confirmed those successes were no flukes when rocketing to a personal best of 10.93 the second fastest of the evening.
The Nigerian's pace pulled the USA's Number Two Tianna Madison - like herself a very talented long jumper - to a mark of 10.97 just 0.01 shy of her lifetime fastest.
The Ivory Coast's Murielle Ahoure this year's World Indoor 60m silver medallist also confirmed she intends being a player in the division of medals when setting a National record of 10.99.
Jamaica's reigning champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce glided the last 50m of her race to win in 11.00 while Allyson Felix joined her Team USA partners in the semis when taking her heat in an easy looking 11.01.
Jamaica's Kerron Stewart and Lalova Bulgaria's 2012 European gold medallist and sixth and seventh in Daegu, were not so sharp but also progressed with times of 11.08 and in the latter's case equalling her season's best of 11.06 which she achieved in the qualifiers at the Area Championships in Helsinki.
Laverne Jones-Ferrette behind Ahoure in the seventh and final heat lowered her US Virgin Island's record by 0.06 to 11.07 while Trinidad's Semoy Hackett and Myriam Soumare of France with their fastest ever times of 11.04 and 11.07 also made the cut for the final.
Further down the qualifying list Ezinne Okparaebo and European bronze medallist Lina Grincikaite ran Norwegian and Lithuanian records of 11.14 and 11.19, Nigerian Gloria Asumnu matched her SB of 11.14, Brazil's Rosangela Santos went through in 11.07 with Ruddy Zang Milama of Gabon, Ukraine's Olesya Povh and Great Britain's Abi Oyepitan taking the three fastest loser slots.
David Martin for IAAF
The American and the performances of the other medal contenders promising a super quick final, saw each of them run faster or match last year's global Championships heats in Daegu where Blessing Okagbare and Ivet Lalova shared the leading time of 11.10.
Jeter the world's second fastest ever performer with a time of 10.64 reining herself in 10 metres from the line and enjoying the backing of a 1.5 m/s wind, rocketed to a superb mark of 10.83 only 0.02sec shy of her season's best.
Jeter’s performance was the fastest ever recorded in the first round heats in the history of the Olympic Games and the equal fourth fastest time ever run at the Olympic Games!
"I just came out to execute the race like my coach told me," said Jeter making her Olympic debut. "Everyone's running to their best - there's two rounds to go. I'm just going to prepare for the next round."
Jamaica's Veronica Campbell-Brown and Kelly-Ann Baptiste from Trinidad who took the silver and bronze medals behind her in Korea, also demonstrated they are in mint condition when coasting to unchallenged winning times of 10.94 and 10.96.
Campbell-Brown the most experienced sprinter in the field said: "I'm happy to be here. I believe a true champion needs to be able to deal with fear. God is in control but I've come to win and stay focused."
Okagbare who came to the Games with a rich vein of form to her name including victories at the recent Samsung Diamond League meetings in London and Monaco confirmed those successes were no flukes when rocketing to a personal best of 10.93 the second fastest of the evening.
The Nigerian's pace pulled the USA's Number Two Tianna Madison - like herself a very talented long jumper - to a mark of 10.97 just 0.01 shy of her lifetime fastest.
The Ivory Coast's Murielle Ahoure this year's World Indoor 60m silver medallist also confirmed she intends being a player in the division of medals when setting a National record of 10.99.
Jamaica's reigning champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce glided the last 50m of her race to win in 11.00 while Allyson Felix joined her Team USA partners in the semis when taking her heat in an easy looking 11.01.
Jamaica's Kerron Stewart and Lalova Bulgaria's 2012 European gold medallist and sixth and seventh in Daegu, were not so sharp but also progressed with times of 11.08 and in the latter's case equalling her season's best of 11.06 which she achieved in the qualifiers at the Area Championships in Helsinki.
Laverne Jones-Ferrette behind Ahoure in the seventh and final heat lowered her US Virgin Island's record by 0.06 to 11.07 while Trinidad's Semoy Hackett and Myriam Soumare of France with their fastest ever times of 11.04 and 11.07 also made the cut for the final.
Further down the qualifying list Ezinne Okparaebo and European bronze medallist Lina Grincikaite ran Norwegian and Lithuanian records of 11.14 and 11.19, Nigerian Gloria Asumnu matched her SB of 11.14, Brazil's Rosangela Santos went through in 11.07 with Ruddy Zang Milama of Gabon, Ukraine's Olesya Povh and Great Britain's Abi Oyepitan taking the three fastest loser slots.
David Martin for IAAF
