He does it again! Usain Bolt cruises to victory in his first 200m heat - grinning to the cameras on the sideline

Usain Bolt's bid for a triple-triple is on track track after winning his preliminary heat in the 200 meters on Tuesday.

After winning a gold medal in the 100-meter dash for a third consecutive Olympics, Bolt has turned his focus to lowering his world record mark of 19.19 seconds in the 200-meters - his favorite race.

On Tuesday, he powered out of the blocks and ran hard out of the curve before slowing down to win heat 9 in 20.28 seconds.

As he raced into the straightaway, Bolt looked to his right not once but three times - each time finding not a single runner at his pace. So in an apparent attempt to save his energy for the bigger races, he slowed his pace to a jog mere yards from the finish line.

USAIN BOLT'S REMAINING OLYMPICS EVENTS

Wednesday

9pm: 200-meter semi-final 

Thursday

10:40am: 4x100-meter relay heats 

9:30pm: 200-meter final (if he qualifies in the semi-final),  

Friday

9:35pm: 4x100-meter relay final 

When it was over, Bolt walked over and hugged his closest pursuer, Nigeria's Ejowvokoghene Oduduru, who finished only .06 seconds behind.

Two other Jamaicans were among the fastest times on Tuesday, with London 2012 silver medalist Yohan Blake running 20.13 and Nickel Ashmeade finishing in 20.15.

Bolt will run in the semifinals Wednesday, and if that goes as expected, he'll be lining up for gold medal No. 8 on Thursday night, where the biggest drama may not be whether he wins, but whether he cracks the once-thought-untouchable 19-second barrier. He already owns both the world record at 19.19, and Olympic record at 19.30.

Others who will challenge him include American Justin Gatlin and Canadian Andre De Grasse, who finished 2-3 to Bolt in the 100, along with LaShawn Merritt of the U.S. They all won their heats on a muggy, sun-splashed day in a stadium with huge swaths of empty blue seats.

During his heat today, Gatlin even got some cheers from the crowd, a contrast to the booing that greeted his introductions for the semifinals and the final of the 100 on Sunday. The Team USA sprinter won his heat in 20.42.

In addition to the 200-meter race, Bolt will also be competing in the 4x100 relay. Heats for the relay start Thursday morning, with the final scheduled for Friday.

For the past two Olympics, Bolt has won gold in all three events he competes in: the 100-meter, the 200-meter and the 4x100-meter relay.

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