KINGSTON, Jamaica – Jamaica’s Ackeem Blake stayed on track for a place in his first major global finals after winning his first-round race in the men’s 60m at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland, running 6.55 seconds.

The 22-year-old beat Slovakia’s Jan Volko’s 6.59 seconds and Bangladesh’s Imranur Rahman – 6.64 seconds, who also made progress to the semi-finals set for 2:45 pm on Friday Jamaica time. The final is set for two hours later.

Blake had the fifth fastest time of the day as American Christian Coleman led with 6.49 seconds, followed by Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala-6.52, Japan’s Shuhei Tada who ran a national record 6.52 and Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme who also ran a national record 6.54 seconds.

Blake, the former Merlene Ottey High student, ran a 60m personal best of 6.42 seconds, the fastest ever by a Jamaican, at the national stadium earlier this month and has an indoor best of 6.45 seconds, just off Asafa Powell’s national 60m indoor record 6.44 seconds, which he ran twice at the 2016 World Indoor Championships held in Portland, Oregon when he won the silver medal.

-Paul A Reid