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KHALID A-H ANSARI |
In the process, Bolt equalled the legendary Carl Lewis' record of an Olympic sprint double set at Los Angeles in 1984.
Unlike the 100m race, in which Bolt toyed with the opposition and slowed down well before the finish, the shenanigans followed once he had lunged past the finish line ahead of Churandy Marina (Netherlands Antilles â19.82 sec) and Shawn Crawford (USA â 19.96).
As the stadium loudspeakers blared "Happy Birthday" on the eve of his 22nd birthday, the lanky 6 ft 5, 195 lb Jamaican kissed the track, beat his chest, clutched at his country's crest on his vest, looked skywards, waved and blew kisses to the crowd.
He danced a quaint jig, brandished his golden running shoes, executed his trademark thunderbolt routine and exclaimed, "I am No1" into the television cameras even as bronze medallist Shawn Crawford (USA) hugged and lifted him off his feet.
History had been made with those present privileged witnesses.
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German weightlifter Matthias Steiner of Germany, who claimed the unofficial title of world's strongest man by winning the gold in the +105kg weightlifting category by a narrow margin of one kilogram, used a personal tragedy to motivate himself.
Born in Austria, Steiner represented that country in the Athens Olympics where he finished seventh in the lower 105kg category.
Difference
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Usain Bolt, who achieved a rare double yesterday |
Meanwhile his wife passed away in a tragic car accident in July last year after which he pledged to win a gold medal at Beijing in her memory.
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On the subject of dedicating medals, the New York Times pays tribute to 33-year old German gymnast Oksana Chusovitina, who dedicated her silver medal on the vault event to her ill son.
The only reason for Oksana, who won her first gymnastics medal in Barcelona in 1992, competing at Beijing, is her leukemia-stricken son.
The mother-athlete says she is competing in the Olympics to thank the people all over the world who raised money for her son's treatment. Oksana says his recovery inspired her to compete in Beijing but she never expected to win a silver medal.
United States gymnast Shawn Johnson is quoted as saying: "I don't know how she does it, how her body holds up. I'm already hurting and I'm only 16."
Olympic gold medallist Bart Conner reportedly said of Oksana that everyone who is a gymnast or has been a gymnast is "simply in awe of her".
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Athens '04 Olympics 110m hurdles champion Liu Zhang, national Chinese icon, who withdrew from his heat on Monday because of injury, has apologised to his people.
Saying he was "very, very sorry" for his forced withdrawal, Liu added: "so many people are worried about me. I feel sorry. I could do nothing about it (pulling out of the race)".
Beijing's China Daily newspaper best captured the national angst over Liu's withdrawal when it described it as a "Greek tragedy".
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Nigeria's men's soccer final clash against Argentina on Saturday will be a rematch of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, which the Africans won 3-2.
In one-sided semi-final action on Tuesday, Nigeria, the '96 Atlanta Olympic champions, trounced Belgium 4-1, while Argentina, bidding to become the first nation to win consecutive titles in 40 years, outplayed Brazil 3-0 in a remarkably one-sided affair.
Nigeria called upon all the experience of playing in six Olympics in scoring one goal in the first half and three in the second, while Belgium, having never advanced thus far in the Olympics, were all at sea as regards capitalizing on the chances that came their way.
Convincing win
Argentina's convincing win over a listless Brazil was powered by two second half goals in seven minutes by Sergio Aguero, who also helped set up a 76th minute penalty kick that was converted by Juan Roman Riquelme.
A crowd of nearly 53,000 savoured the feast dished up by the tournament's biggest stars and former FC Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi (Argentina) and Ronaldinho (Brazil).
Messi, who put country before club in playing in the Olympics rather than Barcelona in the Champions League third round qualifying matches, constantly stalked the Brazilian defence with some brilliant openings. He set up Argentina's second and third goals while Ronaldinho struck the post with a free kick in trying to help Brazil gain parity.
Whereas 21-year Messi has delighted connoisseurs with his magical moves, with many coaches considering him the tournament's best player by far, Brazilian teen striker Alexandre Pato has been a conspicuous disappointment.
A great deal was expected from the teenage striker, who had earlier shown promise of becoming a future Ronaldo or Pele, but so listless have his performances been that coach Dunga has been forced to relegate the 23-year old, who has played for Milan and Brazil, to the bench.
(The Olympics soccer tournament is an under-23 event, with three players over that age allowed per team).
The presence of legend Maradona at Saturday's final should serve as a mighty inspiration for the Argentinians.
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Following the ouster of their men's soccer team from the Beijing Olympics, the Brazilian women can be counted upon to rise to the occasion to redeem lost national pride when they take on the US in the final this evening.
It will be a rematch of the final in the '04 Athens Olympics in which the Americans prevailed in extra time.
Fought back
In the semi-final on Tuesday, Brazil fought back after being a goal down to overwhelm Germany 4-1. Favourites USA lived up to their reputation with a comprehensive 4-2 win over Japan.
