• Diamond League - Oslo

Usain Bolt sets the fastest time of the year in Oslo

Usain Bolt arrives in style © Getty Images

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Usain Bolt is slowly slipping into form as he stepped up his preparations for the London 2012 Olympics Games with a crushing victory in the men's 200m at Thursday's Diamond League meeting in Oslo.

Bolt, who looked out of sorts in a recent 100m victory in Ostrava, set the fastest time of the year in the 200m, crossing the line in 19.86s. However, that marker remains significantly behind his world record, which stands at 19.19s.

The Jamaican superstar entertained the crowd in style pre-race, parading around the track in a car whilst pulling his trademark pose out of the sun roof.

When the race started, Bolt blitzed his rivals to make a mockery of any doubters who questioned how he would perform after 13 months away from the event. Jaysuma Saidy Ndure was his closest competitor, taking second place in 20.43s.

Great Britain's Christian Malcolm was fifth in a season's best 20.57s.

One of Britain's big Olympic gold medal hopes, Andrew Turner, suffered a disappointing evening, finishing fourth in the men's 110m hurdles. Turner, the current European and Commonwealth champion, crossed the line two tenths of a second behind race winner Aries Merritt.

Turner's personal best is 13.27s, and he got close to that when posting a time of 13.32s. However, American duo Merritt and Joel Brown both finished ahead of the Brit, as did Jamaican Dwight Thomas.

Jenny Meadows set a season's best time in the women's 800m, but it was only good enough for fifth place. Meadows posted a time of 1.59.27s, but the big story was 2009 world champion Caster Semenya ending the race third having led through 600m, eventually losing to Halima Hachlaf, who set a world leading time this year of 1.58.27s.

Long distance specialist Andy Baddeley was also well out of the medal places as he came eighth in the Dream Mile. Baddeley finished a little under four seconds off the pace.

In the women's 400m hurdles, Perri Shakes-Drayton will have been delighted with a season' best 54.77s as she finished second. The Brit trailed Czech athlete Zuzana Hejnova, who came home in 54.38s.

Elsewhere, Gemma Bennett could only finish in sixth in the women's 100m hurdles, clocking a time of 13.39s.

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