Usain Bolt and three Brits through to 200m semi-finals in Rio

Usain Bolt began the latest leg of his 'triple triple' bid with the easiest of victories in his 200m heat in Rio.

The Jamaican already has the 100m title in the bag as he aims to win three sprint golds for the third successive Olympics, and he finished at jogging pace on his way to first place in the ninth of 10 200m heats on Tuesday.

Bolt's time of 20.28 seconds was more than a second slower than the 19.19 world record he has his sights on beating by the time the event ends on Thursday.

But he said afterwards: "I didn't really run that hard. I know how to run a 200m. Tomorrow [in the semi-finals] I will show much better progress because I will have to run faster, so I'm looking forward to that.

"Most of the young guys always run fast in the heats, but to win is the key thing because you get a better semi-final.

"I'll have enough rest and enough energy to definitely try [for the world record]. But we will see tomorrow how it goes."

Bolt's major rivals, including Justin Gatlin, made it through safely along with all three British competitors: team captain Adam Gemili clocked 20.20, Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake 20.24, while Danny Talbot equalled his personal best of 20.27.

Resource: skysports.com