Bolt strides into 100m semi-finals

LONDON (Reuters) - Jamaican Usain Bolt allayed fears about his fitness by storming through the first round of the 100 metres in 10.09 seconds at the London Olympics on Saturday.

The defending champion and world record holder was beaten by world champion Yohan Blake at the Jamaican trials and admitted he had been suffering from a hamstring problem caused by a stiff back.

On a hot and sunny morning at the Olympic Stadium, however, the 25-year-old looked his usual confident self as he went through his traditional repertoire of pre-race gestures.

He stumbled at the start but soon got into his powerful stride to move ahead of the field before easing up to cross the line just ahead of Antiguan Daniel Bailey (10.12).

(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Ed Osmond)