Jamaican sprint star Usain Bolt stormed to victory in the men’s 200m at the Diamond League meeting last night, easing up well before the line to time 20.03 seconds.

Bolt, in just his second 200m of the season after setting a world lead of 19.86sec in Oslo last month, masterfully negotiated the curve before opening up down the home stretch to put a distance between himself and the field.

Running in lane six, the 24-year-old had training partner and compatriot Mario Forsythe outside him and French upstart Christophe Lemaitre on the inside.

In the perfect warm-up for the August 27-September 4 world championships in Daegu, South Korea, the double sprint world and Olympic champion (and world record holder in both the 100 and 200m), could put on the brakes well before hitting the line.

His time, should he have carried on at full pelt, would surely have bettered the meet record of 20.01sec set by American track legend Michael Johnson in 1990.

Triple European champion Lemaitre was dragged along in second in a season’s best of 20.21sec, with American veteran Darvis Patton taking third in 20.59.

Another US veteran Shawn Crawford, who won 200m gold at the Athens Olympics in 2004 and silver in Beijing four years later, finished seventh in 22.17sec.

Bolt, brazenly sporting a blue singlet with a picture of himself celebrating victory on it, did his best to calm the excited crowd before the race, television cameras picking him out with his finger to his lips.

And when the starters’ equipment went haywire and with only Jaroslav Baba continuing solo in the men’s high jump, pumping music was played to appease the expectant fans, who were not disappointed.