Lewis-Francis sets pace in men's sprint
Teenager Mark Lewis-Francis upstaged his English team mate and rival Dwain Chambers to set the fastest qualifying time in Friday's second-round heats of the men's 100 metres at the Commonwealth Games.
The two sprinters were involved in an intense battle of bodies and minds as they moved towards what is expected to be the highlight of the athletics programme in Saturday's final.
The 19-year-old Lewis-Francis could not have been more impressive as he cruised to victory in his heat in 10.13 seconds, slowing down in the final strides to look over his right shoulder.
Chambers, who had set the fastest time in the first round of 10.19 earlier in the day, clocked 10.17 in the second round. But his time was slower than both Lewis-Francis and Nigerian Deji Aliu who clocked 10.16.
"I'm feeling alright, I'm going round to round," said Lewis-Francis. "I've got to get ready for tomorrow and I've got to keep my feet on the ground."
Chambers made a slow start in his heat but was quickly into his stride. Like Lewis-Francis, he could afford to ease up on the line.
"The main thing is to qualify," he said. "(But) I'd like to run a bit faster."
Lewis-Francis was pushed hard by Olympic finalist, Kim Collins of St Kitts and Nevis but pulled away from him with a strong late burst and said he was not worried about anyone else.
"I'm not focusing on anyone else. I'm just focusing on myself," he said.
There are four rounds in the men's 100 with the semi-finals taking place at 1805 GMT on Saturday ahead of the final at 1935 GMT. There were no major shocks in Friday's two rounds.
But Namibia's four-times Olympic silver medallist Frankie Fredericks failed to make it to the starting blocks after deciding to focus his attention on the 200.
Kareem Streete-Thompson of the Cayman Islands, who has broken the 10-second barrier, pulled out because of injury.
The top four finishers from each of Friday's four second-round races qualified for Saturday's semi-finals with the top four from those two races advancing to the final.
