Jamaica's Usain Bolt won the men's Olympic 100 metres in stunning style on Saturday, obliterating his own world record to win in 9.69 seconds. He took the most coveted athletic crown with ease, soaring across the line metres clear of Trinidadian Richard Thompson in silver in 9.89 seconds. American Walter Dix won bronze in 9.91 but Bolt's blistering speed made his rivals look like sluggards.
The tall Jamaican raised his arms in triumph well before he crossed the line, thumped his chest and raced to salute supporters in the crowd who roared approval of a spectacular run. His victory was beyond doubt within metres of the starting block and was over within a heartbeat. With 30 metres to go, Bolt glanced sideways and smiled in realisation that he would win the showcase race of the Olympics.
After scorching across the line, Bolt draped himself in a Jamaican flag, took off his golden running shoes and kissed them. "I came here just to win, that was my aim," said Bolt. "I didn't even know I'd won the record till I did my victory lap." His performance sealed a remarkable transition from 200 metre specialist to winner of the showcase race of the Olympics.
Bolt only began racing the 100m in the last year, putting his fellow sprinters in the shade with his performances. He first really showed his threat in May, when he set a world record time of 9.72 in New York. Much of Jamaica was expected to have clustered around televisions to watch the extraordinary run and will have jumped for joy at the run by the man dubbed "Lightning" by the media.
Despite a tradition of producing world class sprinters, the Caribbean island had never before won a men's 100m gold at the Olympics. Bolt can now set his sights on becoming the first man to win the 100m and 200m Olympic double since Carl Lewis in 1984. He will be full of confidence ahead of Wednesday's 200m final.
"I am just focusing on the 200 metres now," said Bolt. "I came here prepared and I'm going to do it." The much-touted finals run-off between Bolt, former world record holder and fellow Jamaican Asafa Powell and world champion Tyson Gay never happened. Gay, suffering from a hamstring injury, was too slow in his semi-final to qualify for the late evening race in front of a roaring 90,000-strong crowd in Beijing's magnificent Bird's Nest stadium.
Powell, 25, who has never won a global sprint title, finished in fifth place. "I messed up big time," said Powell. "My legs died on me. Usain ran an awesome race. I'm very happy for him." The day's other highlight was Michael Phelps equalling fellow American swimmer Mark Spitz's 1972 record of seven golds in one Olympics.
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China 27 11 6 44
United States 16 15 19 50
Germany 8 3 5 16
South Korea 6 9 4 19
Australia 6 7 10 23
Italy 6 5 4 15
Japan 6 5 4 15
Russia 4 8 8 20
Great Britain 4 2 3 9
Ukraine 4 0 5 9
France 3 9 9 21
Slovakia 3 1 0 4
Czech Republic 2 3 0 5
Romania 2 1 2 5
Georgia 2 0 1 3
Cuba 1 3 4 8
Zimbabwe 1 3 0 4
Netherlands 1 2 4 7
Azerbaijan 1 2 2 5
Norway 1 2 1 4
North Korea 1 1 3 5
Canada 1 1 0 2
Mongolia 1 1 0 2
Poland 1 1 0 2
Brazil 1 0 4 5
Switzerland 1 0 3 4
Bulgaria 1 0 1 2
Spain 1 0 1 2
Finland 1 0 1 2
Ethiopia 1 0 0 1
India 1 0 0 1
Thailand 1 0 0 1
Hungary 0 4 1 5
Kazakhstan 0 3 2 5
Sweden 0 2 1 3
Turkey 0 2 1 3
Belarus 0 1 5 6
Austria 0 1 2 3
Algeria 0 1 1 2
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