Mark Smit
21 August 2008
Beijing — MICHAEL Phelps eat your heart out. Eight gold medals or not, the 2008 Beijing Olympics belong to fun-loving Jamaican string bean and sprinter extraordinaire Usain Bolt.
The giant islander pulled out all the stops last night to pulverise the field in the 200m final, smashing Michael Johnson's 12-year world record of 19,32 seconds with a time of 19,30, his double win equalling an accomplishment that has remained untouched for 24 years.
He won the 100m and 200m Olympic sprint double, the first time this has been achieved since American Carl Lewis did it at the Los Angeles Games in 1984.
"I knew the track was fast but I did not think this was possible," Bolt told reporters. "I'm shocked. I have been aspiring to the world record for so long.
"I was worried because I was feeling tired after the (previous day's ) semifinals. I told myself I was going to come out here and leave everything on the track and I did that."
There are few words to describe what Bolt has brought to China's first Olympics. He has simply charmed the pants off everyone with his fun-loving antics and his dazzling running.
After his win last night, he did something reminiscent of the great Muhammad Ali in his heyday, shouting into the television camera lens: "I am the No1, I am No1," and then doing the strangest stick dance to the delight of the crowd.
There was talk before the race that Bolt would be threatened by Churandy Martina of the Netherlands Antilles, who holds his national record with a 20,11 second time, Wallace Spearmon of the US, who has a 20,14 to his credit, and defending champion Shawn Crawford of the US, who has a 20,12. They never came close.
In the television slowmo, Bolt was not even in the frame as the next three crossed the line. He was long gone.
This was a virtuoso performance from the Jamaican, made all the sweeter for so many by the fact that he was not running for the US, who have trumpeted Phelps to anyone and everyone.
Closer to home, Mbulaeni Mulaudzi's words after running second in his 800m men's heat in the Bird's Nest stadium last night will have sent chills through the ranks of a Team SA already feeling the big freeze from fans at home after two weeks with just one medal.
Mulaudzi, who going into these Games was probably considered to be Team SA's best medal prospect after the swimmers -- he has the fourth-fastest 800m time this year -- complained of flu last night, and asked journalists to let him go to put warm clothes on.
When asked about the way he felt, the middle-distance runner, who clocked one minute 47,64 seconds to go through as one of two qualifiers from his heat, said: "Not really good. Yesterday I had flu. My chest was burning, my body was stiff, my joints were aching. So I am just praying tomorrow I wake up and the fever is gone."
Mulaudzi said the doctor had blamed the air conditioning in the athletes' village. "Sometimes in the room it's too hot, and then you go to the dining room and it's freezing."
He has until Saturday to recover for the 800m final. Mulaudzi also had flu before the Athens final four years ago where he won a silver medal.
With only two finishers to go through to the next phase from each heat, Mulaudzi very nearly blew it last night, easing up to let one athlete pass him, and very nearly another.
"I thought I was winning until the last metre and then when I saw the situation there wasn't time to change the pace to beat the guy and the race was finished." he said. "For me the race was over. I didn't see the man coming up on my left. I thought it was over."
His tactic had been to run at the back and then kick, and he said his race had gone quite well. "I didn't want to use too much effort so it was fine."
SA's second entry in the 800m, Samson Mgoepe, finished fifth in his heat to fall out at the first hurdle.
With Bloomberg
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