Saturday, August 16, 2008

OLYMPICS: Usain Bolt set a new world record

Usain Bolt powered to a new world record as he produced a stunning run in the 100m Olympic final.

Bolt was well clear at 60m and although he eased down and started to celebrate 15 metres from the line he still set a new mark of 9.69 seconds.

Richard Thompson finished second while American Walter Dix came third.

Bolt's Jamaican team-mate Asafa Powell had been tipped as a possible rival but finished in fifth place as Bolt produced a superlative performance.

Second-placed Thompson posted a time of 9.89 seconds while Dix was two-hundredths of a second back in third as six men broke the 10-second barrier, but the race was all about Bolt.

Earlier this year he had set a new world record of 9.72 seconds to take the record away from Powell, and the 21-year-old had looked in imperious form on his way to the final.

Powell had also looked in fine form but from the gun it was clear there was only going to be one winner.

The 6ft 5in Bolt was away as quickly as anyone and when he hit the front with 50m to go it was all over bar the shouting.

The only question was just how fast a time he was going to set.

And despite easing down well short of the line he took three-hundredths of a second off his previous record in a display American legend Michael Johnson described as "the greatest 100m performance in the history of the event"

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