Rio 2016: Usain Bolt laughs his way to 200m final as he jokes with Andre de Grasse 30m before the finish line

The Jamaican found time to crack a joke with De Grasse - despite racing for a place in the Rio Olympics' 200m final

Usain Bolt and Andre de Grasse share a joke in the men's 200m (Getty)

Usain Bolt found time to joke and laugh with rival Andre de Grasse of Canada as the pair approached the finishing line in Wednesday night’s 200m semi-final.

The Jamaican secured his spot in the final after clocking in at 19.78 seconds, taking one step closing to completing a historic triple-triple, with De Grasse following close behind at 19.80 seconds.

After powering out of the blocks and taking his lead on the curve, Bolt began to slow down on the home straight in characteristic fashion thinking the race was all but won.

However, De Grasse seized on the opportunity and sped up in a bid to pip Bolt to first place. With under 30m to go, the pair exchanged a friendly smile and laughed as they approached the finishing line together.

“I don't think he expected me to do that,' De Grasse said after the race. “I had to push him a little bit, you know, see what he has left in the tank.”

But the 21-year-old, who attends the University of Southern California, admitted that despite the smiles there was a cunning strategy at work.

“My coach told me to race him to the line, try and tire him for tomorrow's final,” De Grasse told reporters.

“I'm younger and can recover faster, we'll see tomorrow.”

Usain Bolt wags a joking finger in the direction of his Canadian rival (Getty)

Speaking himself after the race, Bolt confessed that De Grasse’s finish had thrown him somewhat, remarking that the Canadian had sped up “unnecessarily” in the final 30m.

“It wasn't cool but it was just one of those things,” Bolt told 7News.

“I was asking him what was he doing. He said: ‘Aw, I had to put on some pressure’, and I said: 'Why, it's a semi-final, you know what I mean?’ He's young so.”

Despite the trivial nature of his finish in the 200m semi-final, Bolt added that he was looking forward to the competition De Grasse offered in tonight’s final.

“He has a lot of talent so I'm looking forward to the competition in the finals,” Bolt said. “He means business.”

While the two exchanged a smile, it was a disappointing conclusion for USA’s Justin Gatlin who surprisingly failed to qualify for the final after placing third in his semi-final heat with a time of 20.13 seconds.

Bolt’s team-mate Yohan Blake also failed to qualify but it was good news for Great Britain’s Adam Gemili who progressed as one of the two fastest losers with a time of 20.08 seconds.

The 200m final gets underway tonight at 2.30am BST.