Jamaican Olympic champion Usain Bolt held his nerve after two false starts by competitors and powered to the year's fastest 100 meters at the Jamaica International Invitational Saturday. The 100 and 200 meters world record holder clocked a dazzling 9.82 seconds in his first individual race of 2012, exploding from the blocks to take control at 40 meters. “It's a good start, I would say,” said Bolt, who erased the previous season-leading time of 9.90 by his training partner and world champion Yohan Blake three weeks ago. Michael Frater, a member of Jamaica's world record 4x100m relay team, finished a distant second in exactly 10 seconds. Although pleased with the last 50 meters of the race, Bolt, who owns world records of 9.58 seconds in the 100m and 19.19 in the 200m, said he must continue to work on the first phase of the shorter race. Women's world champion Carmelita Jeter was also impressive in the 100m. The American sped to a season-leading 10.81 ahead of Kelly-Ann Baptiste of Trinidad and Tobago, who finished in 10.86. Jamaican Olympic silver medalist Kerron Stewart was third in 10.98. “I feel good with that win and I'm injury free,” Jeter said. In the night's final race, Yohan Blake of Jamaica dominated the 200m, with 19.91, the best time in the world this season. Blake owns the world's second-fastest time in the 200 — the 19.26 he ran last September. Jamaica's Asafa Powell, the former world record holder in the 100m, withdrew from the Saturday meet with a groin injury. He had been scheduled to race Blake in the 200m. Jamaican Brigitte Foster Hilton, the 2009 world champion who struggled in 2011, appeared to have regained her form in the 100m hurdles, winning in 12.51 seconds. The time was just 0.02 behind the world leading performance of 12.49 by current world champion Sally Pearson of Australia. It wasn't just Jamaicans who clocked world beating times on Saturday. American Carmelita Jeter wowed the crowd by winning the women's 100 in 10.81, the fastest time in the world this season. American Bershawn Jackson won the 400m hurdles in 48.73 seconds, and Ben Bruce dominated the 3,000m steeplechase, finishing in 8:34.17 to beat fellow American Donnie Cowart. Hometown favorite Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce was beaten in the last stretch of the women's 200 meters by American Bianca Knight, who won with a 22.49. Fraser-Pryce came in second with 22.63.
