John Capel leads them in

Ato Boldon, bronze medallist in the 100m sprint and favoured to win the men's 200m sprint final later in the evening given the absence of Maurice Greene and Michael Johnson, gave his supporters a scare in the semifinals of the event.

Running in a very strong lineup for the first heat of the semifinals, Boldon got off to an explosive start, in lane 8, and then eased up at the halfway mark. Obadele Thompson and John Capel raced ahead and suddenly, with about 30 metres to go, Boldon saw himself facing elimination. Picking up his pace, Boldon just about managed to touch home -- narrowly escaping paying the penalty for easing off too soon.

Capel, who came into the US team after Greene and Johnson crashed out in the US team trials, clocked a fast 20.10 seconds (19.32 is the world record), with Christian Malcolm second in 20.19, Ato Boldon third in 20.20 and Thompson fourth in 20.21.

In the second heat, Konstantinos Kenteris of Greece upstaged the field, running a nice tactical race, keeping up with the leaders, Coby Miller and Floyd Heard both of the US, at the bend, then pushing through in the final 25m with a strong burst to finish first in a time of 20.20 seconds. Britain's Darren Campbell who, like Kenteris, made a fine run at the end, came in second in a time of 20.23, Brazil's Claudinei da Silva was in 20.30 and Coby Miller of the US touched home fourth in 20.45.

That completes the lineup, and the final will be run later this evening, immediately after the women run their finals.

And judging by the field, one thing is for sure, we should see a very, very low 20, or even a sub-20, race over the 200m this evening.

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