He came, he charmed everyone he met, and he conquered his rivals on the track. But Usain Bolt was still not satisfied. The six-time Olympic champion won the 100m event in the third Mano a Mano Challenge in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday (19 April), leaving  the USA’s Ryan Bailey, Brazilian José Carlos Moreira and Dutchman Churandy Martin trailing in his slipstream. But Bolt had said before the race that his target was to run under 10 seconds, and his time at the Brazilian Jockey Club was 10.12 seconds.

“I’m not satisfied,” admitted the Jamaican, whose world record time is 9.58 seconds, in the post-race press conference. “I still have to speak to my coach, but I hope he won’t be too upset with me, because I did my best. The good thing is that I won. Overall I didn’t feel myself, but I think it’s just a lack of races. This is my first race of the season, so it was not going to be as fast as everyone wants. But I will definitely be at the top of my performance at the Rio 2016 Games.” 

Bolt, who will attempt to achieve an unprecedented ‘triple-triple’ at the Rio 2016 Games by defending the three Olympic titles he won at both the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Games, has been busy since arriving in Rio on Thursday. He visited a community sports centre in the working class neighbourhood of Mangueira and trained with three-time Paralympic champion Terezinha Guilhermina, acting as a guide runner for the blind sprinter. Everywhere he has gone, he has been rapturously received, and he was due to attend a football match between Rio rivals Flamengo and Vasco da Gama at the Maracanã Stadium on Sunday night.

Find out what Bolt's targets for the Rio 2016 Games are in our exclusive video:

The excitement of the fans at the Jockey Club on Sunday was not dampened by the morning rain or the finishing time of over 10 seconds. “Seeing Bolt in the flesh feels like a dream, something incredible,” said Danielle de Oliveira Teixeira. “Last Wednesday I told my son Arthur, who is six, that we’d be coming, and he’s been asking me ‘is it today?’ every day since.”

In the Paralympic 100m race, Brazilian sprinter Alan Oliveira was unable to compete due to a problem with his prosthesis as he warmed up. Richard Browne of the USA won in 10.88 seconds. “I don’t know what happened,” said Oliveria, who won 200m gold at London 2012. “A valve that secures the prosthesis was loose, and that made it feel uncomfortable and unstable.”   

In the women’s 100m race, Jamaica’s Veronica Campbell-Brown, a three-time Olympic champion, triumphed in 11.04 seconds. “It was my first 100m of the season, so I wasn’t too worried about the time, I was thinking more about technique,” she said. “The fans were great and I enjoyed myself, and I hope I can return for the Rio 2016 Games.”  

Olympic fever has clearly gripped this fan, who was at the Jockey Club on Sunday (Photo: Rio 2016/Alex Ferro)