Usain Bolt becomes new 100m record holder

From "The Daily Times"-New York

Like lightning out of nowhere, Usain Bolt is now the world’s fastest man. The Jamaican sprinter, who doesn’t even consider the 100 meters his best race, set the world record with a time of 9.72 seconds at the Reebok Grand Prix on Saturday, .02 seconds faster than the old record held by his countryman, Asafa Powell.

Bolt was using the 100 as “speed work” to get better for his favorite race, the 200, and also to avoid having to run the more grueling 400. Then, unexpectedly, he ran the world’s second-fastest time a few weeks ago at 9.76. Even with that, he said he wasn’t sure if he would switch out the 400 for the 100 at the Beijing Olympics. “I think that will change today,” Bolt said. “It doesn’t matter if I have the world record if I don’t have the Olympic medal.” Springing from the starting block and unfurling his lanky frame – listed at 1.93 meters (6-foot-4), but probably more like 1.95 (6-5) and, either way, considered too tall for this kind of speed work – he created a big-time gap between himself and Tyson Gay at about the halfway point, then routed America’s top sprinter to the finish line. “I wasn’t really looking for a world record, but it was there for the taking,” Bolt said.