Usain Bolt(s) to second world record
Dinesh WEERAWANSA reporting from Germany
Usain Bolt took the Jamaican track supremacy to its pinnacle with
back to back world records at the 12th IAAF World Championships
continued at the Olympiastadion here last night.
Usain Bolt |
Bolt not only completed that elusive sprint double but also achieved
that in perfect fashion - with two new world records.
After bettering his won men’s 100m mark with a powerful 9.58 seconds,
the Jamaican sprint merchant was back at his business with another
brilliant performance in men’s 200m final.
With the bonanza he gets for the two world records and the two gold
medals, Bolt has now earned a purse of USD 320,000 for two jobs done in
less than 30 seconds. That’s roughly $11,123 for each second of his 100m
and 200m performances combined - undoubtedly the highest hourly wage in
the world by any mean.
The fastest man ever on earth proved he is equally good in half a lap
race clocking a miraculous 19.19 seconds. Winning 100m and 200m gold
medals at any world level meet is a dream of any international athlete,
but what more could you ask from a sprinter who achieves the same with
two world records!
Bolt did exactly the same at the sea blue color track at the Berlin’s
Olympic Stadium, which has turned out to be a happy hunting venue for
Jamaican athletes. But even former 200m World record-holder Michael
Johnson, had predicted earlier in the day that 200m world mark looks
beyond Bolt’s reach as the Jamaican was too tired to improve on the
record of 19.30.
But Bolt proved that he does not know the meaning of fatigue at all.
When American Johnson clocked a world record 19.32 in 1996, many thought
it would not be possible to break that for decades. But with Bolt in
peak form, anything is possible.
The race got off to an inauspicious start with David Alerte of France
taking a false start as Bolt registered a slow reaction of 0.345 then.
But that turned out to be Bolt’s fortune as the Jamaican had another
attempt. Bolt was perfect in the second start, reacting quickly - 0.133,
the fastest reaction of the field. The lanky king of Berlin track fired
all his cylinders as he reached the top gear at the bend, surging into
the lead.
As Bolt maintained his pace and shot into the home straight, there
was no body to challenge him. Even if American Tyson Gay, who withdrew
at the eleventh hour before heats, had taken part, he would not have had
any chance.
Gay’s team-mate Shawn Crawford was in a clear silver medal position
but way behind Bolt, who went like a space rocket to the finish line.
While Bolt was heading for a comfortable win, Crawford was being
caught by Panama’s Alonso Edward and US team-mate Wallace Spearmon.
Bolt stopped the clock at 19.20, but was later rounded down to 19.19,
while Edward and Spearmon succeeded in catching Crawford. Edward, who
came into this year with a 20.62 personal best, registered a South
American Area record of 19.81 in second place. Spearmon settled for his
second successive World 200m bronze with a time of 19.85 - his third
best ever. Crawford tightened up on the line with a time of 19.89.
Thus, Bolt improved his previous 200m World record by 0.11, the same
amount of time he chopped off his 100m record last Sunday.
“I did not really have it on my mind. I said early in the season that
I had to get my start right. I worked on it. That was the key in this
final: I got my start right,” Bolt said after his bold run. Asked what
he did before the race, Bolt said he was keeping cool.
“I was just in my room playing video games all day. It keeps me calm
and that is the aim. This final was not mentally harder than Beijing but
physically. I definitely showed people that my world records in Beijing
were not a joke,” he stressed a point.
“I showed the people what can be achieved with hard work and
dedication. I am ready for another WR with our relay. But I do not know
whether my teammates are. I do all this for my country. They are crazy
for me and proud of me. I am honoured to do this for Jamaica. In the
next World championships and Olympic games I plan also a double to
defend my titles,” the undisputed sprint champion said.
Besides Bolt, there was another West Indian who stole the limelight.
There were hardly any who put their bets on Brathwaite of Barbados on
men’s 110m hurdles.
He simply made the best use of a situation in which World
record-holder Dayron Robles and defending champion Liu Xiang of China
were absent.
US duo Terrence Trammell and David Payne had the misfortune of
continuing their trend of picking up minor medals at global
championships and replicated their 2-3 finish from the last IAAF World
Championships in Osaka. BERLIN, Friday. |