Usain Bolt shatters world 100m record again
By Ryan Haas
Reporter-SKNVibes.com
.jpg) BERLIN, Germany-SPRINTING phenomenon out of Jamaica Usain Bolt has once again broken the world record in the Men’s 100m dash, recording an unbelievable time of 9.58 seconds yesterday (Aug. 16) to win the event at the 12th IAAF World Championships.
It was no doubt the most anticipated race of the year as the returning world champion, United States’ Tyson Gay, squared off against the world record holding wonder boy Bolt. Exactly one year prior to the day, Bolt had amazed the world at the Beijing Olympics as he crushed the previous world record with a time of 9.69.
The atmosphere was tense with Bolt, Gay and Jamaica’s Asafa Powell lining up in lanes four, five and six respectively. Out of the field of eight competitors, Bolt was the third slowest out of the blocks with a reaction time of 0.146, but it was obvious within the first 20m of the race who was in control.
Bolt used his long stride to extend his lead through the next 60m, but unlike Beijing he had to run full force in the final 20m to keep Gay and Powell well behind him.
It was obvious that an event never witnessed before in human history had taken place, and when the electronic time of 9.58 was shown on the clock, persons from every corner of the globe erupted in Berlin.
SKNVibes spoke to the Acting President of the St. Kitts-Nevis Amateur Athletics Association, Glenn Jeffers, who was on hand to witness the historic event.
“Seeing Bolt win was awesome,” he said of the man who shaved off .11 seconds from his previous record, the largest margin of improvement in history.
“It left everyone in awe when the time of 9.58s appeared on the clock. Up to now, I still cannot believe a human can run that fast,” Jeffers added.
Following the race, Bolt said that he had set his mind toward breaking the world record before the massive crowd in Berlin.
“I was definitely ready for the world record and I did it. I didn't think I could run a tenth (of a second) faster than my world record, but for me, anything is possible,” the 22-year-old told the media.
Gay set a new national record for the United States as he took the silver medal in a time of 9.71, while Asafa Powell claimed his second consecutive World Championships bronze in the 100m with a season’s best time of 9.84.
The world will now turn its attention toward the Men’s 200m, which begins tomorrow (Aug. 18) and is anticipated to produce another Bolt versus Gay showdown for supremacy.
While Bolt said that he intends to win the 200m as well, he did not predict a performance as quick as that of the 100m.
“I doubt I’m going to get the World Record in the 200,” he said. “I’m going out there to run hard, definitely, but I think it is going to be even more difficult. I haven’t run 200s much all season because I don’t think I was really in 200 shape.”
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