London 2012: Usain Bolt's day of reckoning

Usain Bolt answers the nagging question of whether he is still the fastest man on Earth on Sunday in an Olympic cauldron that almost boiled over when Britain’s athletes enjoyed their greatest night on Saturday. The Jamaican claimed a golden treble with three astonishing world records at the last Olympics in Beijing. But since then he has lost his world title and his aura of invincibility. Fans hoping the men’s 100 metres final on the fast London track will top Beijing’s may not have been reassured by the sight of Bolt shorn of his trademark cockiness after stumbling in his heat and qualifying ninth fastest. [caption id=“attachment_405387” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Will Usain Bolt triumph again? Getty Images[/caption]The semi-finalists earlier in the day will be led by American Ryan Bailey, who clocked 9.88 seconds in the heats, and Justin Gatlin (9.97). But the semis also include the three fastest men in history after Bolt - Jamaica’s Yohan Blake and Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay of the United States. Bolt has suffered fitness niggles and said as the Games began that he was “95 percent” fit. Asked by reporters on Saturday if he was in good enough shape to win gold, Bolt looked down at his feet and replied: “We’ll see”. He can at least take inspiration from a crowd who cheered his first appearance to the hilt and from compatriot Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce who on Saturday repeated her own Beijing victory in the women’s 100. She clocked an impressive 10.88 seconds to hold off American Carmelita Jeter and give Jamaica a chance of repeating their Beijing sweep of individual 100 and 200 golds. BRITAIN’S NIGHT But Saturday night belonged to Britain who took three athletics golds and three more elsewhere to register their best day at an Olympics since the first London Games in 1908. Jessica Ennis, poster girl of these Olympics, collapsed in tears of relief after a capacity 80,000 crowd roared her to victory in the heptathlon. Greg Rutherford then won a surprise long jump gold and finally Mo Farah, born in Somalia but brought up in England, won Britain’s first 10,000 metres gold to break 16 years of Ethiopian domination in the event. Kenenisa Bekele, winner at the last two Olympics, finished fourth. “I just can’t believe it, the crowd got behind me so much. I’ve never experienced anything like this. The best moment of my life,” Farah said. British medal success and the exuberance of fans across the venues have begun to create an Olympic buzz across Britain. Reuters