BEIJING Sprinter Shawn Crawford survived two rounds of qualifying heats at the Olympics Monday, advancing to the final 16 in the men's 200.

Crawford, a South Carolina native who won the gold medal in the 200 at the 2004 Olympics, will compete in the semifinals today. If he finishes in the final four in his eight-man heat, he will earn a spot in Wednesday's final.

Crawford grew up in Van Wyck, S.C., and starred in track at Indian Land (S.C.) High and Clemson. Now at age 30, he and everyone else in this race will be trying to catch Usain Bolt.

The Jamaican sprinter is the overwhelming favorite in the 200 after setting a world record in the 100 (9.69 seconds) Saturday. Bolt managed that record despite stretching out his arms, pounding his chest and coasting most of the last 20 meters.

Said Crawford of Bolt, who turns 22 on Friday: “Everyone is beatable.”

Bolt is thought to have a shot here at the 12-year-old world record in the event – the 19.32 seconds that American Michael Johnson ran at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

In Crawford's first heat Monday morning, he ran 20.61 seconds and won his heat. When asked how his legs responded to that early-morning run, he said: “They responded like any 30-year-old legs would, getting out of bed this early.”

In the second of Crawford's qualifying heats Monday night, he faced Bolt.

Bolt won that heat in 20.29, easing way up at the end. Crawford was second with a 20.42 and said he stepped off the gas, too.

“We all let up,” Crawford said. “We don't ever let it hang out until the final or the semifinal if you've got to push it.”

UNC's Flanagan

UNC graduate Shalane Flanagan begins her second event at the Summer Olympics today in a qualifying heat of the women's 5,000 meters.

Flanagan already won a surprising bronze medal in the women's 10K, when she ran a personal best of 30:22.22 that also set the American record.

The 10K is considered Flanagan's best event, although she says that she actually prefers the 5,000. While Flanagan won the 10,000 at the U.S. Olympic Trials, she finished third in the 5,000 and will be a long shot for a medal.

Flanagan now lives in Pittsboro, N.C., along with her husband Steve Edwards, a former middle-distance runner for UNC who is also her training partner.

The 5K field is extremely strong, including 11 runners who have career-best times that are lower than Flanagan's personal best of 14:44.80. The other American who may have a shot at a medal in the 5,000 is Kara Goucher, who finished 10th in the 10,000 at Beijing but promised she will be a “different animal entirely” in the 5K.