Bolts redemption song

Six days after he false-started in 100m,Jamaican cruises to 200m gold at the Worlds in Daegu.

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Six days and a slow start later,Usain Bolt finally won gold at the world championships,running the fourth-fastest 200 meters in history to back up his showmanship with a stunning performance. After he was disqualified for a false start the 100 final last Sunday,Bolt was slowest out of the blocks before driving through the bend and powering to the line in 19.40 seconds,just 0.21 seconds of the world record he set to win his first world title two years ago.

Knowing he had something to prove,there was no braggadocio during the race. Instead,he gritted his teeth in utter effort over the last 20 meters before dipping across the line for the fastest time in two years. I am still the best, Bolt told an elated crowd of about 45,000 at Daegu Stadium before starting a barefoot dance to a deafening beat. It was beautiful. Walter Dix of the United States won his second sprint silver in 19.70 and Christophe Lemaitre earned bronze with a French record of 19.80.

Bolt was a defending champion coming through on a night of two big upsets at the worlds. In the high jump,Anna Chicherova of Russia beat two-time defending champion Blanka Vlasic of Croatia,and Matthias De Zordo of Germany overcame favorite Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway to win the mens javelin.

Before Bolt took to the track,Sally Pearson ran the fastest 100 hurdles race in almost two decades to win gold. Pearsons time of 12.28 seconds was the fastest since 1992 and moved her up to fourth in the all-time list of performers.

Yet,as so often when Bolt is in the stadium,there is nothing to match the Jamaican. Before his race,he was fist-bumping with the volunteer who carried his belongings,practiced his Lightning Bolt move and shushed the crowd with a finger before his lips before he sank into the blocks.

There was going to be no shock disqualification again. With a reaction time of .193 seconds,he was the slowest out of the blocks. But from there on,everything went like a whirlwind. I was running hard just to say to fans,Sorry about the 100 meters, Bolt said.

Dix was running in Lane 4 just ahead of him and surprisingly held off Bolt for much of the bend. But from there onward,it was a foregone conclusion as Bolt put the power on,fully got his knees rolling and left the others standing.

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He was eyeing the giant television screen to see he was unchallenged in his favorite event. Yet he kept powering to prove a point that there was no dent in his confidence. It was Bolts fourth gold medal over two world championships.

Felix bags seventh gold

Allyson Felix now has done three better. The American ran the second leg on the winning 4215;400 relay team to claim her seventh gold over four world championships. They won in 3:18.09. Behind the Americans,Jamaica took silver and Russia earned bronze. Richards-Ross,who finished a disappointing seventh in the individual 400 final,staked the US to a good lead on the first leg and they were subsequently never threatened. It was very exciting. We had two youngsters in the team and they represented really well. We all ran 49 seconds which has never been done before. It was a great team effort and I8217;m really happy to represent the United States, said Richards-Ross.

The gold was also the first of the competition for Felix,who had been targeting an unprecedented world 200-400 double but had to settle for silver and bronze.

It was the third straight victory in the event for the United States,while Jamaica has now taken silver at the last four world championships.

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The Kenyans flaunted their confidence again on Saturday,extending their dominance of the middle and long-distance events with Olympic champion Asbel Kiprop leading Silas Kiplagat in the 1,500 for yet another Kenyan 1-2 finish.