Bolt shatters 200 world record

BEIJING -- "The best man won today. It wasn't me."That's the way Walter Dix of the United States described the amazing Olympic moment that took place Wednesday night in the Bird's Nest.And the other six sprinters who followed Usain Bolt to the finish line can echo Dix's words.In fact, everyone in this world who has ever run 100 or 200 meters can say the same thing.Usain Bolt is the fastest dude on the planet.He left no doubt."I blew my mind, and then I blew the world's mind," the 22-year-old Jamaican said after winning the Olympic 200 meters with a world record time of 19.30.Bolt broke the 12-year-old record of 19.32 that American Michael Johnson ran at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. And he also disproved the old myth that "lightning never strikes twice in the same place." Lightning Bolt - as he likes to call himself - struck first on Saturday night when he broke his own world record in the 100 meters at 9.69.Then he came back to the Nest just four days later and struck again, becoming only the third American sprinter to ever win gold in both the 100 and 200 at the same Olympics. Jesse Owens did it in 1936, and Carl Lewis repeated in 1984."I knew I could go that fast. I have shown potential all season. I have been running fast times," Bolt said. "I told myself that if I was going to get the world record, it was going to be here because this track is real fast. I was going to invest everything I had on it."Bolt, who turned 22 Thursday, confirmed what he had been saying all along that breaking Johnson's 200 meters record was more important to him that breaking the 100, which he held at 9.72."I have been dreaming of this ever since I was yay high. The 200 has been my life since I was 15 and was the youngest to ever win the world juniors," he said.Bolt is only the second Jamaican to ever win Olympic gold at that distance.Don Quarrie won it for the Caribbean island just south of Cuba back in 1976. Quarrie also took silver in the 100 that year in Montreal.Bolt said his win belongs to all of the people of Jamaica."It means a lot to me, and it means a lot to my country also," he said. "I talked to my prime minister, and he said everything was blocked off in Jamaica. Everybody is in the street. I have written history. I am real proud."While there was a clear-cut winner of the gold, there was a lot of after-race confusion as to who would get silver and bronze.At first it was Churandy Martina of Netherlands Antilles coming in second and Wallace Spearmon of the United States taking third,But right after he had the U.S. flag draped around him in celebration, the 23-year-old Spearmon learned that he had been disqualified for stepping out of his lane. The United States at first protested but later drew back that appeal and filed a protest about second place, claiming Martina had also stepped out. That appeal held up.So Shawn Crawford, who won gold in the event four years ago, was given the silver in a time of 19.96 and his teammate Dix got the bronze in 19.98."Bolt has made history. He has broken a 12-year-old record that was held by Michael Johnson, and at the same time, he crushed the 100-meter record," Crawford said. "He added spirit to the sport. He danced for us in the introduction. He danced for us at the end. He put on a show. "I feel like him and athletics is like Michael Phelps and swimming. He raised the bar for us." After the race, reporters were asking Bolt is he might want to go to 400 meters and try to get another world record."Anything is possible if I put my mind to it like I did this season," he answered. "But don't hold your breath. I don't think I will be going up to 400 meters anytime soon."If he does, Michael Johnson will be there waiting for him again. Johnson also set the 400-meter record of 43.18 back in 1999.(Contact Nick Gholson of the Wichita Falls Times Record News at gholsonn(at)timesrecordnews.com.)