BEIJING: Usain Bolt capped his stunning rise to stardom with an Olympic title yesterday and, without even really trying, set a world record in the 100 meters.
With world champion Tyson Gay out in the semifinals, the 21-year-old Jamaican seemingly only had Asafa Powell to beat, but when he looked around and realized he was all clear with 30 meters to go, he coasted and still set a world record of 9.69 seconds.
Well behind, Richard Thompson of Trinidad and Tobago took the silver medal in 9.89, and Walter Dix of the United States was third in 9.91. Powell again crumbled under the pressure of a big competition and finished fifth.
“Usain was spectacular,” Powell said. “He was definitely untouchable.”
If athletics was looking for a defining moment to get the sport back on track after years of doping scandals, this was it. And the sellout crowd of 91,000 at the Bird’s Nest let out a huge cheer, realizing it had seen something historic under the Olympic flame. With a third of the race to go, Bolt had the luxury to look right, realize he was in a class all his own, outstretch his arms, and pound his chest as he crossed the line, slicing .03 off the record he set earlier this season.
“It wasn’t planned,” Bolt said of his running celebration. “My aim was to come out and win. When I saw the time, I’m celebrating. I’m happy.” Why didn’t he try to do better? “I didn’t come here to run the world record, because I was the world record holder. I came here to win,” Bolt said. He did it with one of his shoes untied: When Bolt crossed the finish line his left shoelace was flapping. Afterward, he became the happiest of Jamaicans with the biggest of grins, his canary yellow shirt disappearing in a sea of friends while reggae music blared.
His pre-competition routine: “Woke up at 11. Had some lunch — some nuggets,” he shrugged. “Watched some more TV. Went to my room, slept for three hours. Went back, got some more nuggets, then came to the track.”
What was supposed to be a three-way battle for medals turned into a one-man show. In four races in two days, not once did he push himself to the limit, yet produced the most stunning series of races. All for a guy who was hardly known outside his Caribbean nation at the start of the season. And to think his coach doubted whether to let him run the 100-200 double up to a few weeks ago. Instead, Bolt produced one of the most epic races in track history. Few others even come close to comparing. Perhaps Michael Johnson setting the world record of 19.32 at the Atlanta Games, a dominating performance so stunning it was tough to get silver medalist Frankie Fredericks on the same photo at the finish. Surely that record will now come under threat when Bolt lines up in his favorite event next week.
Or Tommy Smith, holding his arms outstretched in victory when he crossed the line at the Mexico City Games in 1968, also setting a world record in the process. And Bolt can make it even better. He is the overwhelming favorite for the 200, and with Powell as a teammate Jamaica is now a favorite to beat the Americans at their game — the 4x100 relay — next weekend. Tense before his semifinal start, Gay was slow out of the blocks and never caught up.
Teammate Darvis Patton convincingly dipped for the line and the world champion didn’t, making the difference between fourth and fifth — between making the final in track’s premier event and stunning disappointment.
The Olympics were Gay’s first competition since straining his hamstring at the US trials six weeks ago. It caught up with him in the third qualifying race in just over 36 hours. It means Gay’s only chance at Olympic medals here will come in the relays. The triple gold medalist from last year’s World Championships didn’t qualify for the 200 when he pulled up lame at the US trials. All other finals were overshadowed. Nataliia Dobrynska won the heptathlon in a 1-2 finish for Ukraine. The 2004 world indoor champion finished last in the final graded 800 race, but earned enough points to hold off Lydumila Blonska, who served a two-year doping ban before coming back to take silver at last year’s world championships. Hyleas Fountain of the United States took bronze. Valerie Vili won the shot put, giving New Zealand its first Olympic gold medal in track and field since John Walker’s 1,500-meter title in 1976. Ahead of the fastest race at the Olympics, Russia got on the medal stand in the 20-kilometer walk. Valeriy Borchin was the surprise winner, spoiling the farewell Olympics of Jefferson Perez, the 1996 Olympic gold medalist. After Gay’s shocking elimination, the Americans looked a lot better in the 400 hurdles. Angelo Taylor, Bershawn Jackson and Kerron Clement had the three top times ahead of Monday’s final.
In the women’s 100, three Jamaicans won their quarterfinals ahead of US rivals. Much like the men, today’s final is seen as a showdown between the two great sprint powers.
