THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY AUGUST 18 2008
SPORTS
11B
OLYMPICS
Jamaican sprinter breaks world record
Bolt wins gold as he surpasses his own fastest 100-m time
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jamaica's Usain Bolt crosses the finish line to win gold in the men's 100-meter final in the Beijing Olympics Saturday. He finished the race in a world-record time of 9.69 seconds, finishing his previous world record of 9.72 set in May.
BY EDDIE PELLS ASSOCIATED PRESS
BEIJING — Imagine if he had really tried. Pounding his chest, turning up the palms of his outstretched arms, mugging for the cameras before he even crossed the finish line, Usain Bolt rewrote the record books again and captured his first Olympic medal Saturday, toying with the field and running the 100-meter dash in a stunning 9.69 seconds.
"It wasn't planned," the newly crowned "World's fastest Man" said of his running celebration. "My aim was to come out and win. When I saw the time, I'm celebrating. I'm happy."
His left shoe was untied when he crossed the finish line. Not that it mattered much. He could've walked across.
It was a blowout, a rout, no contest, as the 21-year-old jamaican took a huge lead halfway through the race and finished upright, looking to his right to find not a challenger but instead a bunch of photographers recording history.
He broke his own record, set in May in New York, by .03 seconds and became the first spinner to set the world record in the Olympics since Donovan Bailey ran 9.84 at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
"No one will get near it," fellow Jamaican Michael Frater, the sixthplace finisher, said of Bolt's record.
Bolt beat Richard Thompson of Trinidad and Tobago by 0.2 second — more than a body length
ASSOCIATED PRESS
— while American Walter Dix was third. The race marked the first time six runners broke 10 seconds in the Olympics. There was no wind — the reading was 0.0.
Asafa Powell, the Jamaican who held the world record for three years before Bolt grabbed it, continued his string of disappointments in big races, fading to fifth for the second straight Olympics.
U.S. women dominate New Zealand in final pool-play game 96-60
American Tyson Gay, who was supposed to be the third part of a so-called dream race, didn't even make the final, eliminated with a fifth-place finish in his semi.
OLYMPICS
the shortest sprint.
New Zealand's guard Kate McMeeken-Russo defends Team USAS Cappie Pondexer during the second quarter of their women's preliminary basketball game at the Beijing Olympics Sunday. The U.S. team will play South Korea on Tuesday.
BY DOUG FEINBERG ASSOCIATED PRESS
Bolt's specially has been the 200 meters, and he will be a heavy favorite to win that one next week in what would be the first men's Olympic sprint double since Carl Lewis in 1988. But Bolt persuaded his coach 13 months ago to let him try the 100, too — and what quick progress he has made.
"Usain was spectacular." Powell said. "He was definitely untouchable tonight. He could have gone a lot faster if he had run straight through the line."
BEIJING — Another game, another rout.
Bolt is 6-foot-5, one reason he was never really pegged to run the 100 — men that tall aren't supposed to be able to get out of the starting blocks fast enough to win
The U.S. closed out pool play in the same fashion as all its other games in the Olympics with a blowout.
Tina Thompson scored 10 of her 15 points during a 21-10 run in the second quarter and the U.S. women's basketball team beat New Zealand 96-60 on Sunday night.
Mills liked the 400, thought Bolt was better built for that. Bolt didn't like that kind of work — too gruel-
scored on Jillian Harmon's jump from the corner just at the halftime buzzer.
The Kiwiis missed eight straight shots and had three turnovers during the drought.
Bolt actually skidded from the blocks in this one — not perfect, but then again, he didn't really need to be. He needed 41 strides to cover the 100 meters and practically loped past the finish line, looking to his right but finding no other runners there.
The Americans won the five games by an average of 43 points. With the exception of a rough first half against Spain and the first 3 minutes against the Czech Republic, the U.S. looked unbeatable.
New Zealand was able to stay close with the U.S. for a quarter behind hot shooting. They were 8-for-16 in the first quarter and only trailed by five at the end of the period.
The U.S. will play South Korea in the quarterfinals Tuesdaynight. The South Koreans advanced to the next round by holding off Latvia 72-68 on Sunday.
The U.S. extended its lead in the third quarter to 38 in the third quarter behind Katie Smith, who had eight of her 13 points in the period.
Lisa Leslie started the run with a layup and then Thompson hit three layups and two jumpers over the next 5 minutes as the U.S. stretched out its lead. Delisha Milton-Jones' reverse layup ended the run with 18 seconds left in the half and put the Americans up 50-22.
The U.S. took over in the second quarter turning up their defensive intensity.
Lisa Wallbutton's jumper with 7:29 left in the period cut New Zealand's deficit to 29-22 before the Americans scored 21 straight points.
Angela Marino led New Zealand with 17 points and Wallbutton added 14.
Seimone Augustus added 12 points and Tamika Catchings had 11 for the U.S.
New Zealand (1-4) finally
When he crossed, he kept running about halfway around the track. He did a hip-swiveling dance, blew kisses to the crowd, clowned around with arms out like a bird in flight, and held up the Jamaican flag. Later, he took off his golden spikes, which will, of course, look great next to his gold medal.
Bolt had always seemed Olympic champion material in the 200 meters, and there was long and spirited debate between him and his coach, Glen Mills, about which other race to make part of his program.
The U.S. also held an incredible turnover margin over New Zealand.
The Americans had only 10 compared with New Zealand's 21.
In other games Sunday, Australia defeated Russia 75-55, China beat the Czech Republic 79-63, Spain routed Mali 79-47, and Brazil beloved Belarus 68-53.
So he committed to working on his starts, so important in these races. After less than a year of training in earnest, he lined up on Randall's Island in New York and routed Gay to set the world record at 9.72 seconds.
Even then, Bolt and Mills played games about whether he would go for the double at the Olympics. They were just messing with everyone. A guy this fast doesn't say no when the chance is there.
After he set the world record the first time, Bolt said he was happy to have it but wanted the Olympic gold as well. Records, he said, can be broken. Olympic golds last forever.
Bolt, of course, has both but insists he was only going for the win this time.
"I didn't come here to run the world record, because I was the world record-holder," Bolt said. "I came here to win."
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