Kerron Stewart of Jamaica was a comfortable winner of her 100m heat (© Getty Images)
A wide open Olympic women's 100m offered few real clues as to the likely outcome after the big name athletes comfortably progressed through the opening round.
Much of the pre-race attention has been thrust upon the three-strong teams from Jamaica and the USA and the fancied half-dozen all eased into tonight's quarter-finals with no real problems.
Of the US trio, Torri Edwards, the 2003 World champion, was the fastest qualifier taking heat one in 11.26 - 0.04 clear of Great Britain's World Indoor silver medallist Jeanette Kwakye.
The 2004 Olympic silver medallist, Lauryn Williams, is regarded by many pundits as the pre-event favourite and she successfully negotiated the morning heats without expending too much energy.
Williams got away to her characteristic bullet-like start and could afford to turn off the power in the final 20m. This allowed French veteran Christine Arron the opportunity to take the heat two victory from the American by 0.01 in 11.37, but Williams looked strong.
In heat three, Muna Lee, the US champion,made a far from convincing start but recovered to ease to victory by 0.10 in 11.33 from the Italian champion Anita Pistone.
World No.2 Kerron Stewart was the pick of the Jamaican qualifiers. Stewart, who has run 10.80 this season, never looked faintly troubled as she cruised to success in the tenth and final heat in 10.28.
The inexperienced Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser shrugged off any pre-event nerves she may have felt by taking top spot in heat six in 11.35.
Sherone Simpson, the third Jamaican, however, almost paid for being too relaxed!
The Commonwealth champion never looked as if she got out of second gear until she was forced to step on the gas in the final 20m to take third, and the final automatic spot, in 11.48 behind Russia's Evgeniya Polyakova (11.24) in heat seven.
Elsewhere, Defending Olympic champion Yuliya Nesterenko of Belarus safely qualified for tonight's quarter-finals by finishing runner-up to Belgium's Kim Gevaert.
Nesterenko does not appear in the kind of form to land a second successive Olympic gold, but she recorded 11.40 to finish 0.07 behind heat winner Kim Gevaert, the European champion.
The three fastest qualifiers all came from heat eight as Nigeria's 2007 World 100m finalist Oludamola Osayomi blitzed to victory in 11.13.
Former World 200m champion Debbie Ferguson-Mckenzie was second in 11.17 with Poland's unheralded Daria Korczynska hacking 0.12 from her PB in 10.22 to take the third automatic slot.
Bahamian veteran Chandra Sturrup took heat four in 11.30 with Bulgaria's Ivet Lalova claiming heat seven in 11.33.
Steve Landells for the IAAF
