Brilliant Bolt gets his 100m season off to a flier

JAMAICAN triple Olympic champion Usain Bolt opened his 100 metres season with the year's fastest time, clocking 9.86 seconds in Daegu, South Korea.

The meeting, at the site of next year's IAAF world championships, was the first of two on a brief Asian tour for Bolt. He will run 200 metres in the Shanghai Diamond League meeting on Sunday. Bolt overcame a slow start to easily defeat compatriot Michael Frater. His time was 0.28 seconds off his world record of 9.58. American David Oliver surprised Cuban world record holder Dayron Robles in the 110 metres hurdles, winning in 13.11 seconds, the year's fastest. US sprinter Carmelita Jeter edged Jamaican world indoor champion Veronica Campbell-Brown in the women's 100 metres.

Meanwhile, rising British sprinter Shaunna Thompson is hoping the advice of Darren Campbell and Linford Christie will help propel her towards eventual Olympic glory. Thompson, an enthusiastic and well-grounded 18-year-old, beat Olympic 400metre champion Christine Ohuruogu into third place in Sunday's 150m street race in her home city of Manchester, narrowly losing out to Jessica Ennis.

Two years have passed since she claimed 100m and 200m gold at the Commonwealth Youth Games and, despite being new to the senior ranks of competition, she is already being tipped as one of Britain's great medal hopes for the future.

Thompson insists she will go all out for success in London 2012 but admits Rio de Janeiro 2016 represents a better chance of glory, and she is being helped in her quest by two of the country's sprinting greats.

Aside from training from her coach, the nursing college student receives words of wisdom from idol and friend Campbell and British 100m record holder Christie – who have both tasted Olympic gold and have 30 medals between them at Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth level.

"I saw Darren and Linford on Saturday, they just give me a lot of advice," said Thompson. "They've seen me since practically the day I started athletics and obviously they could see something in me. I think it's good for them to see that I'm still doing it and I've not been influenced by distractions."