Fraser-Pryce was the only woman in the final eight who trains in Jamaica, with coach Steve Francis at the MVP (Maximum Velocity Possible) club.

“I can always just take a bus home,” she said. “I love the comforts of being in Jamaica. It’s laughter, it’s fun. I don’t think I could survive in a cold place.”

She said she barely held on in her race.

“The first 30 meters was really good and the last 30 my form started to fall apart,” she said. “I had a side glimpse of somebody coming. I over-extended.”

She said she expects the Jamaican men to be just as successful as the women.

“What makes this exciting is we got our independence from England 50 years ago and I won our first gold in London to top it off,” she said.

Francis predicted “fireworks” in the men’s 100 semis but said Bolt’s fitness remains a question mark.

“If he’s in shape he’s going to win pretty easily,” Francis said. “If he is in the same shape he was in two months ago it’s going to be a disappointing race. The advantage Blake has is that he’s beat Bolt in practice.”

The one-two finish of Farah and Rupp was the brainchild of their coach, Alberto Salazar, the Cuban-American distance great who is seeing the fruits of his 11-year-old Oregon Project, a program designed to upgrade American distance-running fortunes.

Farah, who was born in Somalia, uprooted his family and moved to Portland, Ore., two years ago to train under Salazar and with Rupp. The collaboration paid off as Farah and Rupp — nurtured by Salazar since high school — executed their tactical plan to perfection, staying close to the opposition until the last half lap.

“They’ve had good speed work the last two weeks so it was very simple,” Salazar said. “They wouldn’t try to win it until the last 400, or even 200. I told them, ‘You’re both faster than anyone in there.’ I was confident we’d go 1-2 or 1-3. I told Galen, ‘You have a chance but only in the last 100. You have to wait.’ ”

Said Bolt of his heat: “It was a bad start but I’m glad it happened now. My legs felt good so I’m happy.”