Stepping out onto the big stage, Usain Bolt instantly transforms into the ultimate showman.

The Jamaican sensation played to the adoring crowd again yesterday at the world championships, blowing on his fingers as if to cool off the tips of his imaginary pistols and mugging for the camera at every opportunity.

Once he settled into the starting blocks, Bolt really put on a show in the 100 meters. He was well out in front of the field after his first step and so far ahead by the midway point that he looked back at the pack with a big, you-can't-catch-me grin on his face.

This is all fun and games to Bolt.

And, boy, is he having fun.

Bolt easily won his heat in the opening round as he hardly exerted any effort. He finished in 10.10 seconds, which even though was unspectacular was still the top mark.

Guess those rumors of his vulnerability were premature.

Bolt has been hearing about how he's lost a step this season and that runners such as Trinidad and Tobago's Richard Thompson or Jamaican teammate Yohan Blake were prime to take away his title at the worlds.

The always affable Bolt was better than both on this night and barely even broke a sweat. Thompson was third in his heat (10.34), while Blake had little trouble winning in 10.12.

"People are always going to say what they want," Bolt said. "I'm focused on what I want. My focus is to go out there and win, execute and show the world I'm still the best."

The world-record holder is leaving little doubt of that. He's picking up where he left off at the last world championships two years ago in Berlin, where he dominated the field. Bolt broke his own 100 mark in Berlin with a time of 9.58.

He's already acknowledged he's not in record-breaking shape this season. But judging by his performance in the first round, Bolt may want to adjust that thinking.

Bolt was out in front of the field so fast that it looked like he was given a head start.

It may be the rest of the field needs a head start.

British runner Dwain Chambers had to try to play catch-up from the moment the gun sounded. And he, along with every other sprinter, has come to realise there's simply no catching up to Bolt when he's at his best.

Chambers finished second and advanced to the semifinals. The finals are tonight.

With Tyson Gay sidelined because of a surgically repaired hip and world leader Asafa Powell withdrawing two days ago due to a groin injury, Bolt's main rivals aren't there to give him a nudge.

That's all right – he still has the clock. And at major events, that's become his biggest competitor.

Sure, Bolt has the seventh-fastest time this season heading into the competition. But he needs this type of stage in order to shine, this type of audience to crank up his intensity.

He did his best to rev up the crowd yesterday, constantly clowning around and running his fingers through his hair while looking up at himself on the stadium's big screen.

Even his uniform looked special. The daughter of reggae great Bob Marley was hired to design the team's gear.

Bolt hummed down the lane, too, until he shut it down a good 40 metres before the finish. That's all he needed as he planted this thought into everyone's mind: When he runs like this, can Bolt be beat?

"That's a good question," Thompson said. "I'll have to figure it out."

Before the start of the 100, former world champions Maurice Greene and Gay hammed it up at a get-together to discuss track's signature event. They even made a wager as they picked the winner of the 100, among other events.

Gay's favorite wasn't a surprise – Bolt.

But Greene went off the board by picking Blake, Bolt's up-and-coming teammate.

"In championships, stars are born and stars are made," Greene said. "He's young, talented and doesn't know any better than to just go out there and run fast."

Go ahead, doubt Bolt. He enjoys proving people wrong.

Even more, he enjoys celebrating in front of them.