BEIJING - Baylor track and field sprinter Trayvon Bromell opened the IAAF World Championships by running a 9.91 (0.5m/s) to win his heat of the 100-meter dash Saturday at the Bird's Nest in Beijing, China.

"Today was a good race for Trayvon," Baylor associate coach Michael Ford said. "He said he felt good and he ran really well. I think it was good for him to run last week in Japan. Tomorrow will be a big test as he runs in the same semifinal as Bolt and De Grasse."

Bromell came out of the blocks well, but accelerated even better to take over in the middle of the race. He let off the gas with about five meters to go and still finished more than a meter clear of Chijindu Ujah of Great Britain (10.05) and Julian Reus of Germany (10.14) in the fourth heat.

NOTABLES
• Bromell's time of 9.91 was the second-fastest in qualifying. Only USA teammate Justin Gaitlin had a better time - 9.83. However, Bromell's was the fastest wind-legal mark.
• It was also the fastest in the first round of a World Championships since the adoption of the system by which the qualified sprinters were exempted from the preliminary round.

WHAT'S NEXT
By winning his heat, Bromell will now run in the event's semifinals at Sunday at 6:10 a.m. CT. There will be three semifinal heats with Bromell looking to be one of the top-two finishers in his race to secure an automatic spot in the 100-meter final, which will be later that same day at 8:15 a.m. CT.

Bromell will run out of lane four in the first semifinal where he also be racing against world-record holder Usain Bolt of Jamaica and the man who beat Bromell at the NCAA Championships, Andre De Grasse of Canada.

The IAAF World Championships air live on the NBC family of networks, with coverage spanning across NBC, Universal Sports, and NBC Live Extra.

Broadcast television coverage of Bromell's races can be seen on tape delay at 12 p.m. CT Sunday. To watch the events live visit universalsports.com.

To stay current on all things Baylor Track, follow the team on Twitter: @BaylorTrack.

COMPLETE BAYLOR RESULTS
Q = qualified for next round of event
100 Meters
Men - Heat
1. Trayvon Bromell -- 9.91Q