Usain Bolt won his second 200m race in the last 21 months, clocking 20.13 on a rained-on track in Ostrava, Czech Republic, on Tuesday.
Bolt’s time ranks him fourth fastest in the world this year in the 200m and was .07 faster than his time on April 11, his first 200m since August 2013.
“It was a little bit colder than I thought it would be,” Bolt told an on-track reporter. “It’s all about working on my technique, getting back into shape.”
The Ostrava field included zero of the expected top challengers to Bolt at the World Championships in Beijing on Aug. 29.
Earlier, Olympic 800m champion and world-record holder David Rudisha pulled up early in a 600m race, holding the front of his right thigh. Rudisha pulled a muscle, but the injury was not very serious, according to the Kenyan’s Twitter.
Rudisha, 26, went more than one year between races in 2013 and 2014 due to a right knee injury and returned to be the fifth fastest man in the world in the 800m last year.
Also Tuesday, Asafa Powell won a 100m in 10.04 seconds with a small headwind, well off his 9.84 from May 9.
Bolt ran a total of 400 meters in competition last season, one shortened due to foot surgery.
Bolt’s 200m world record from 2009 is 19.19, a mark he has said he hopes to break.
Bolt is scheduled to race at the Adidas Grand Prix in New York on June 13 (NBC, 1-3 p.m. ET).
Bolt’s biggest rival, American Justin Gatlin, is scheduled to race a 200m at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Ore., on Saturday (3:30-4:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN; 4:30-6 on NBC).
Gatlin clocked 19.68 and 19.71 in 200m races in 2014, the fastest times in the world since Bolt ran 19.66 to win the 2013 World Championship.
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Very unfortunate that i pulled my muscle just after 100m. But its not a very serious injury, thank you all for your support. @ZlataTretra
— David Rudisha OLY (@rudishadavid) May 26, 2015
Usain Bolt after running 20.13sec in pouring rain: "I’m just happy to have got out injury free." Was the run any use? "I wouldn't think so."
— Ben Bloom (@benbloomsport) May 26, 2015
