Usain Bolt played to the cameras before his 200-meter semifinal, slowed down in the middle and still rallied to beat rivals who were running much harder.
Bolt won his semifinal in 20.09 seconds Tuesday night, keeping alive his chances for the first 100-200 Olympic double since Carl Lewis in 1984.
The Jamaican sprinter, who set the world record in the 100 at 9.69 seconds Saturday, beat defending 200 champion Shawn Crawford of the United States by 0.03 second. The noticeable difference, though, was that Bolt appeared to be loping to the line, while Crawford was busting across at full speed.
American Wallace Spearmon used a late burst to finish third and will join a third American, Walter Dix, in the final Wednesday night.
In the 400-meter semifinals, American rivals Jeremy Wariner and LaShawn Merritt won their respective semifinals. Wariner, the defending Olympic champion, is 14-3 lifetime against Merritt, but Merritt has two of those wins in the last year, including at the U.S. Olympic trials.
Information from the Associated Press contributed to this report.
