BEIJING(AP)
Usain Bolt. Insane speed.
The Jamaican wunderkind hurtled to his second world record and
his second Olympic gold medal, finishing the 200-meter race
Wednesday night in 19.30 seconds to break Michael Johnson's
12-year-old mark.
Bolt became the first man to break the world record in both the
100 and 200 at the same Olympics. Not since Carl Lewis in 1984 has
any man doubled in the Olympic 100 and 200.
He had this one won about halfway through, but unlike his
record-setting performance in the 100 four nights before, there was
no hot-dogging, no celebrating until he crossed the line. He went
hard all the way, looking at the clock down the stretch, leaning at
the line, knowing that Johnson's venerable mark was within
reach.
When he saw the number come up _ a number that never has before
_ he raised his arms, then fell flat to his back, arms and legs
outstreched, and basked in the roar of the Bird's Nest
crowd.
It is no understatement to call him not just "The
World's Fastest Man," but maybe the greatest sprinter of
all time.
He will also compare well to Jesse Owens, one of the eight other
men to pull off the double at the Olympics.
Wallace Spearmon of the United States finished third but was
disqualified for leaving his lane, a decision that U.S. officials
protested. He was celebrating along with Bolt _ even picking up his
friend _ carrying the American flag around the track for several
minutes after the race and was shocked when an official told him of
the DQ.
That gave Churandy Martina of Netherlands Antilles the silver
medal and Shawn Crawford of the U.S., the defending Olympic
champion, the bronze.
Indeed, they were racing for second. Martina finished in 19.82,
incredibly more than a half-second behind Bolt.
Bolt is simply a different kind of runner _ coiled power in his
6-foot-5 frame, supposedly too big for success in the 100, but
certainly built to run the 200.
His move out of the starting block isn't nearly as important
in the longer race, which makes this more about raw speed. But a
good start certainly doesn't hurt. He got one in this race,
bursting out of the blocks from Lane 5, overcoming the lag about a
quarter of the way through, then beating Martina to the line by
four body lenghts.
Bolt's 100 record is 9.69 seconds. He averaged 9.65 per 100
meters in the longer sprint, running into a very slight
headwind.
"Incredible," Johnson, now the former record-holder,
said after the race. "He got an incredible start. Guys of 6-5
should not be able to start like that. It's that long, massive
stride. He's eating up so much more track than others. He came
in focused, knowing he would likely win the gold and he's got
the record."
Bolt won the race on the eve of his 22nd birthday and a version
of "Happy Birthday" played over the public-address system
as he took off his gold shoes and wrapped the Jamaican flag around
his shoulders like a scarf.
He did another hip-swiveling dance, then raised his hands and
pointed toward the scoreboard. A little later, he posed near the
scoreboard _ the traditional picture that all world record-setters
take. Bolt now has three of them _ this, the 100 from Saturday and
the picture he took in New York in May when he broke the 100 record
the first time.
"You're back there giving it everything you've got
_ it's brutal," said Kim Collins, the 2003 world champ who
finished seventh. "He's doing it and making it look so
simple. Michael Johnson did it, and it didn't looked that
easy."
Bolt's victory made Jamaica 3-for-3 in the Olympic sprints,
and the women's 200 Thursday will include three Jamaicans with
gold-medal potential _ Veronica Campbell-Brown, Sherone Simpson and
Kerron Stewart.
None of them, however, will surpass what Bolt has done at these
games. And while Michael Phelps and his eight swimming golds may be
The Story of these Olympics, Bolt's sheer dominance in the most
basic tests of speed there are will not soon be surpassed _ unless
he does it himself.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.