Usain Bolt - you couldn't make the name up! - broke the world record for 100 metres on Saturday 31st may, with a time of 9.72 seconds. that was two hundreds of a second faster than the previous time, held by the 100 metre specialist, Jamaican compatriot and serial big meet choker, Asafa Powell. Bolt, whose preferred distance is the 200 metres, had already laid down a mark of his potential in an earlier race, clocking a time of 9.76 seconds. For a man who claims to have a poor start and also shares with his fellow speedster, Powell, the alarming habit of slowing down ten metres from the finish line, the question is just how fast can he go? Showing admiral composure to focus after two false starts, Bolt also managed to hold off the challenge of the current world champion, the American Tyson Gay. Gay's achievements also include being the current 200 metres world champion and the burden of being the man to banish the tarnished image of America's brash and arrogant, not mention drug scandalized, athletics. If Powell can get his mind right and Bolt and Gay maintain form, the Beijing 100 metres will be a real race to look forward to. I, for one, cannot wait!
