Usain Bolt breaks 200m and 100m sprint records at championships

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Saturday, August 22, 2009

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Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt set a new world record in the 200 metres, Thursday evening at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin, Germany.

Usain Bolt at the Olympics in 2008.
Image: Richard Giles.

Bolt sped through the 200m in a time of 19.19 seconds, breaking the 19.32 mark set by Michael Johnson of the United States in 1996.

"I was trying, I was dying," Usain Bolt said after the race. "It wasn't a good race I can say but it was a fast one."

"Unbelievable — a ridiculous race. The bend is unbelievable," commented the aforementioned former record-holder Johnson while working for the BBC. "No one has ever run a bend like this and probably never will."

At 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) tall, Bolt is uniquely tall among sprinters to have held record times.

	I am on my way to becoming a legend
—Usain Bolt

"I definitely showed people that my world records in Beijing were not a joke," Bolt said on BBC television. "I keep telling you guys my aim is to become a legend. I don't think about records. I don't put myself under pressure. I know what to do and I go and execute ... I did well for myself and I am on my way to becoming a legend so I am just happy."

"We call him 'Insane Bolt,'" commented Wallace Spearmon of the US, the third-place finisher.

Usain Bolt winning the 100m final at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China.
Image: PhotoBobil.

Last Sunday, with a time a 9.58 seconds, the Jamaican runner set a new world record in the 100 metres, besting his own prior 9.69 second record, which he set at the 2008 Summer Olympics. In the race, he beat his main contender, Tyson Gay, who was ahead for 10m until the Bolt reached his full stride.

After the 100 metre race, Bolt said, "I was ready. I was feeling good after the semi-finals, feeling good in myself, I felt good. So I knew it was going to be a great race, I just came out here and executed it. It's a great time, I felt I did well. I just feel good to know that I went out there and executed it."

Even before his exploits at the World Championships, Usain Bolt was chosen as Laureus World Sports Awards' Sportsman of the Year for 2009.

Related news

• "Usain Bolt to run 150 metre race in Manchester". Wikinews, March 19, 2009
• "Usain Bolt sets new world record in 100m sprint". Wikinews, August 16, 2008

Sources

Learn more about 100 metres and 200 metres and 2009 World Championships in Athletics on Wikipedia.

• Nick Harris "The Greatest: Usain Bolt". The Independent, August 22, 2009
• "Awesome Bolt breaks 200m record". BBC Sport, August 20, 2009
• Mitch Phillips "Bolt reigns supreme after 200m world mark". Reuters, August 20, 2009
• "Usain Bolt 200m WR 19,19 Berlin 2009". ZDF, August 20, 2009 (Video)
• John Regis "'Usain Bolt has got superhuman speed'". The Guardian, August 18, 2009
• Michael Hanlon "As Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt smashes his own world record, are there ANY limits to what the human body can achieve?". Mail Online, August 18, 2009
• Alan Marshall "Usain Bolt blitzes world record to land 100m gold at World Athletics Championships". Daily Record (Scotland), August 17, 2009
• Jo Atkinson "Brilliant Bolt smashes own world record". The Scotsman, August 17, 2009
• "Bolt smashes own record to win world 100m title". CNN, August 17, 2009
• Ian Chadband "World Athletics: Usain Bolt wins 100m gold in world-record smashing 9.58 seconds". The Daily Telegraph, August 16, 2009
• Steve Spencer "Usain Bolt shatters his own 100m world record in stunning World Championship final". thelondonpaper, August 16, 2009
  

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