Usain Bolt took his first, somewhat stuttering, steps towards what he hopes will be a glorious World Championship farewell when he recovered from a poor start to win his heat in the first round of the 100 metres in 10.07 seconds.
The Jamaican is seeking his fourth gold in the London event ‑ he has won the 100m at every world championships since 2009 apart from 2011 when he was disqualified for a false start.
America's world and Olympic champion Justin Gatlin, twice banned for doping offences, was loudly booed by many in the 55,000 crowd when his name was announced and again when he won his heat in 10.05.
American 21‑year‑old Christian Coleman fastest man in the world this year with 9.92, looked smooth in winning the first heat in 10.01.
On a cool but windless night, Jamaican Julian Forte was the only man to break 10 seconds, clocking 9.99 for his first time under the magic mark.
The big surprise of the night was South Africa's Akani Simbine, who has been in hot form all season but finished fourth in his heat in 10.15 to scrape through as a fast loser.
The semi‑finals and final take place tomorrow.
Bolt is also due to go in the 4x100m relay a week later ‑ his final championship race before retirement.
