Usain Bolt blew away any fears about his fitness and fired a major warning to Justin Gatlin as he blasted to his two fastest 100 metres of the year on his return to the Olympic Stadium on Friday night.
The world's fastest man, on his first outing for six weeks following a pelvic injury, clocked 9.87 seconds twice, to win his heat and then the final at the Sainsbury's Anniversary Games.
The Jamaican stated on the eve of the meeting he had no worries about his shape a month out from the World Championships in Beijing and proved true to his word on the track where he won three Olympic gold medals at London 2012.
His run in the heat was smoother than the final, but he could take further heart from the fact both were into headwinds and in far from ideal conditions.
The six-time Olympic champion had to work hard after a poor start in the final, beating American Mike Rodgers by just 0.03secs.
And there was also a sub 10-second clocking from Great Britain's Chijindu Ujah, who equalled his personal best by finishing fourth in 9.96s.
The world's fastest man, on his first outing for six weeks following a pelvic injury, cruised through the heats at the Sainsbury's Anniversary Games, recovering from a typically slow start to clock 9.87 seconds into a headwind.
The torrential rain had eased a little by the time Bolt took to the track for his heat and was gone by the final, but these were still tough conditions in which to produce a performance which would have world number one Gatlin, the two-time drug cheat not invited because of his past, sitting up and taking notice.
Bolt, though, managed it and then some, even though he had the worst reaction time of the nine athletes in the final.And he seemed distinctly unimpressed by his final run.
He told BBC Sport: "Overall, it was a good run. My start was really poor. My coach (Glen Mills) keeps telling to me relax. I want to run faster and it is getting there.
"The first race was very smooth and I was very happy with what I did. In the final, I got a bad start and it all went downhill from there.
"It is hard work and dedication. I just need to keep pushing myself. I feel pretty good. If I continue to work on my start, it will all be good."
Bolt came into the meeting ranked 62nd in the world with a best of 10.12secs this year. He is now up to joint sixth, with Gatlin still leading the way with 9.74s.
Bolt's performances will have had athletics fans breathing a sigh of relief, with the prospect of Gatlin winning the blue-riband event in Beijing one many within the sport will find hard to stomach.
Bolt's form before now may have been indifferent, but he remains one of the biggest draws in sport and its ultimate showman.
A theatrical bow to the crowd as he was introduced to the crowd amid the biggest roar of the night was straight out of the West End.And the laughing and joking was back ahead of the final
"I really love this crowd and I enjoy competing here," he said.
