The exchange of smiles and conversation between Usain Bolt of Jamaica and Andre De Grasse of Canada at the finish line of the 200 meters semi-final of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics attracted attention this Wednesday, in Engenho. In search of his third Olympic championship, the star is planning a quieter race. However, he had to slow down his young opponent's efforts and classified the stance as “unnecessary”. “He should have taken it slow. I said: 'What are you doing? Semi-final.' I think he wanted to put pressure on me. I was a little lazy, but I turned it around.” And he added: “I wanted to run slower, but De Grasse had other ideas, he wanted to run as fast as possible to get a national record.”

Competitiveness is the driving force for Bolt in this Thursday's decision, at 22.30, and his goal is to try to break the world record of his favorite race. At the 2009 Berlin World Cup, the sprinter clocked 19.19 seconds, the time he hopes to achieve at the Rio Olympics.

“I really think I can run to break the world record, I feel like that. I need to run efficiently and have a perfect race. I hope course six or seven can run as smoothly as possible,” said the Jamaican.

In the 200 meter final, Bolt will not face his main rival. Justin Gatlin of North America was finally overtaken in the third heat and did not qualify for the medal race. The Jamaican sprinter considers the absence of his opponent – the silver medalist in the 100m – natural. “I wasn't too surprised, I thought he would make it, but I could see at 100 meters he was in pain, losing speed, he was getting old,” he said.

Gatlin avoided tears over his elimination and appeared resigned. “I'm happy to still be here (for the relay). “My ankle had a lot of problems, I couldn't run well and there was a tight corner in lane three,” he explained.