The world's fastest three sprinters effortlessly went through the Olympic men's 100m dash heats in Beijing on Friday morning.

Usain Bolt, who shortened his countryman Asafa Powell's world record of 9.74 seconds by two hundredths of a second in June, clocked 10.20 seconds in his debut to the Olympics.

Powell, who just created his year's best in 9.82 seconds half month ago, finished in 10.16 seconds in the first round.

US favorite and world champion Tyson Gay dashed 10.22.

Though loosening their muscles in final strides, the three hot candidates for the fastest man in the Beijing Olympics easily qualified for the next round.

(Xinhua News Agency August 15, 2008)