KINGSTON, February 24- World 100 and 200-metre record holder Usain Bolt made a surprise 2015 season debut Saturday, running the anchor leg in a 4×100 relay heat victory at the Gibson Relays.
Bolt appeared to run with ease as he took the baton from world and Olympic 200m medallist Warren Weir and brought home the victory for the Racers Lions foursome in 39.26 seconds.
Mario Forsythe ran the lead leg while Michael Frater ran the second leg in the preliminary heat at Jamaica’s National Stadium in Kingston.
“For me this was a good run. It was a good blow out in the early morning,” Bolt said of his first race on local soil in the past two years.
“I am looking forward to the finals.”
The University of Technology ran the fastest time of the day at 38.87 seconds to lead the finals qualifiers.
Bolt set world records of 9.58 seconds in the 100 and 19.19 in the 200 at Berlin in 2009 and also helped Jamaica’s 4×100 relay to a world record.
The eight-time world champion is a reigning Olympic champion in the 100, 200 and 4×100 relay, having swept all three events at the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Games.
The 28-year-old sprint star had skipped the Camperdown Classic earlier in February in what had been expected to be his season opener.