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Usain Bolt returns from injury to win 200m in London

The fastest man in the world hasn’t slowed down even after a hamstring injury kept him from competing in the Jamaican national athletics championship in early July. (Getty)
The fastest man in the world hasn’t slowed down even after a hamstring injury kept him from competing in the Jamaican national athletics championship in early July. (Getty)

Usain Bolt dominated the field Friday at the London Diamond League with a time of 19.89-seconds in the 200-meter race. Bolt starred as one of the headliners of the event and the BBC broadcast even featured a special “Boltdown” to countdown the minutes until he took the track. Fortunately for event organizers, Bolt’s injury didn’t seem to bother him one bit.

A grade 1 tear in Bolt’s left hamstring had forced the sprinter to withdraw from the Jamaican national athletic championships, but didn’t prevent him from being named to the Jamaican national team or competing in Friday’s event.

Now, with the injury scare behind him, Bolt can direct all his energy to repeating his gold medal-winning performances from the last two Olympics and help Jamaica’s medal count climb. Should Bolt win gold in the 100m, 200m and the 4×100-meter relay at the Rio Games, he will be the first person to have accomplished the “triple-triple.”

[Related: Roger Federer out of Olympics, will miss rest of season]

Before his relatively easy victory Friday, Bolt told reporters he is ready to make history at the Rio Olympics:

“I’ll be there. I’m looking forward to it. I’m excited to go,” Bolt said. “This is where history is going to be made. I’m looking forward to going down there, doing my best, putting on a show.”

The 2016 Rio Olympics track and field events begin Aug. 12.