Who will become the fastest man at London Olympics?

Dinesh WEERAWANSA reporting from England

Who will become the fastest man at London Olympics? Will he be able to become the fastest man on earth, or to become the fastest man ever in the 116-year-old Olympic history? These are the questions to which a packed 80,000 plus spectators at the Olympic Stadium and billions of television viewers will be seeking an answer on Sunday night.

It could well be a keen tussle for supremacy as the men's 100m finals take place here on Sunday night at 9.50 p.m. - 2.20 am Sri Lanka time on Monday. The semi finals will be worked off almost two hours before that.

Defending Olympic champion Usain Bolt of Jamaica moved to the semi-finals of the men's 100m event at 2012 Olympic Games with a blistering run in the qualifying round heats today.The Jamaican stumbled at the start but recovered quickly to stroll to first place in his heat clocking 10.09 seconds.

Of all the 56 top world class sprinters who competed under seven heats today, American Ryan Bailey posted the fastest time, a blistering personal best of 9.88 secs to win the heat 3. British teenager Adam Gemili finished second behind Powell, with Dwain Chambers posting 10.02, one of his fastest times.Team-mate James Desaolu also qualified, as the top three from each of the seven heats progressed automatically, as well as the two fastest losers, for tomorrow's semi-finals.

It is going to be a head to head battle between Jamaicans and Americans. US sprinters won three heats while their Jamaican counterparts on an equal number of races in heats. The only exception was Dawub Chambers of the host nation who has a season's best 10.03 to thin the heat seven.

"I expected the reception in London and I was looking forward to it. I stumbled at the start but I'm glad it happened now and not in the final," Bolt said after clearing the first hurdle towards his title defence.

Gemili, who has only recently switched to sprinting from football, said after posting 10.11: "To come to the Olympics and to walk inside the stadium with the cheer is unbelievable for me. Things are happening quickly this year, but I have worked hard. I only started in athletics in January and the results are showing now.

Chambers, able to compete at the Olympics after the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned a life ban for doping, admitted to being nervous before competing. "I am glad to get through the heat, the roar of the crowd was amazing," said Chambers. "It inspired me and I can see how much of an impact it is having on people like Jess.

In another shock news, former world champion Kim Collins was dropped from the event after being disciplined by St Kitts and Nevis officials for breaking team rules and leaving the athletes village. "My fans. I won't lie. Won't be running later tonight. Even men in prison get their wives to visit," Collins said in a post to his Twitter.

South African Oscar Pistorius advanced to the semi-finals of the men's 400m this morning. Pistorius became the first double-amputee to compete in the Olympics and Paralympics when he ran in heat one.

Known as 'Blade Runner' due to his prosthetic legs, Pistourius finished second in 45.44 seconds.

The 25-year-old had looked set to miss out on a place in the individual event after failing to run a second 'A' qualifying time to gain automatic selection.

At the Royal Artilary Barracks today, Jamie Lynn Gray was the runaway winner of the women's 50m Rifle 3 Positions final with a new Olympic record. The 28-year-old, who came fifth in the same event in Beijing four years ago, set a new Olympic record of 691.9.

Gray also humbled the Olympic record in qualifying with a score of 592 - just two short of a world best - and never looked like relinquishing her lead in the final. Serbia's Ivana Maksimovic was 4.4 behind in silver medal position and Czech Adela Sykorova took bronze, while world number one Barbara Engeder of Germany was down in sixth.

Hosts Great Britain celebrated double gold medal glory on an historic Olympic today with the men's Four and the women's Lightweight Double Scull winning Olympic titles in exciting style. Andrew Triggs Hodge, Pete Reed, Tom James and Alex Gregory led from the start in the Four to extend Britain's dominance over the Olympic event to 16 years. Britain won their fourth successive coxless Four title by a quarter of a length from the Australians with the United States winning the bronze medal. Britain also took a silver medal in the third final of the day, with Zac Purchase and Mark Hunter second in the men's Lightweight Double Scull.

Denmark's Mads Rasmussen and Rasmus Quist took the gold in the men's Lightweight Double Sculls, while Czech Republic's Miroslava Knapkova won women's singles sculls event.

Great Britain's Zac Purchase and Mark Hunter won the silver after a close finish to add to a successful morning for the Host Nation in the Rowing.

LONDON, Aug. 4