BERLIN (Reuters) – Jamaica’s Usain Bolt shattered his own 100 metres world record to win the world championship final in a breathtaking 9.58 seconds on Sunday.

Bolt took a staggering 0.11 seconds off the 9.69 mark he set winning gold at the Beijing Olympics a year ago to the day, taking the event into a time zone undreamed of before his arrival on the scene.

In contrast to the Olympic final when he was able to coast over the line, Bolt was pushed hard on the blue track at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium.

American Tyson Gay, the 2007 world champion, finished second in 9.71, the third fastest time ever, and Jamaican Asafa Powell claimed bronze in 9.84.

“I don’t run for world records,” Bolt told reporters. “The aim was just to come out here and execute because it was going to be a tough race.

“I got a pretty good start, I was there at 20 metres and that was it.”

Bolt, who false-started in the semi-final, made a flying getaway in the final and was clear by 20 metres.

He crossed the line with one eye on the clock before pounding his chest and blowing kisses to the crowd.

He hugged his friend Powell and completed a lap of honor roared on by some 70,000 cheering fans.

“Today was perfect. This gave me a lot of energy. Especially the crowd,” Bolt said through the stadium microphone, immediately after the race. “I won’t forget it.”

Bolt, five days shy of his 23rd birthday, had pledged to wrestle the only major title still missing from his now perfect collection away from Gay, but had complained his preparation was plagued by rain and wind in the European meetings he ran.

He also had to undergo minor surgery to remove thorns from his foot in April, after stepping on them following a car crash.

Comments

comments