Day 2 (16th) Evening Wrap - Bolt 9.58 World Record

First up on the second main session of the Championships was the womens 100m second round. Particularly impressive was Kerron Stewart from Jamaica who ran 10.92, and Carmelita Jeter from America, who ran 10.94. Both looked very relaxed and in control, and still ran some very quick times. Everyone you would expect to get through did just that. The semis and final will be stacked!

Then came the warm up act to the big event tonight - the semis of the mens 100m, with the finals set for later tonight. The first heat had Bolt, Darvis Patton, Daniel Bailey, and Michael Rodgers. In fact only three of the eight had Pbs slower than ten seconds - in a semi final. Heat two was no less stacked, with Gay, Powell, Chambers, and Frater, and another five sub ten second men.

And a false start! By none other than Usain Bolt, the man who has stated that the new false start rule of immediate disqualification doesn't worry him because he has never false started in his life before. I wonder if this will change his mind. And then came another false start, this one by Britain's Tyrone Edgar, who was unfortunately disqualified.

And then came an incredible display of running, as Bolt jogged the last 60 metres, as if waiting for the field to catch him, and still ran 9.89. The world record will definitely go tonight if Bolt runs hard.

In the second heat Gay and Powell have a good battle, with Gay winning in 9.93. But none of them look as comfortable as Bolt, and Bolt still ran faster. But then Gay never looks as comfortable as Bolt. It's still up for grabs, but it's swinging further in Bolt's favour.

Next up was the womens 400m semi finals, with a punishing qualification process. Three heats, and only the first two in each heat, plus the next two fastest times, qualify for the final. In the first heat Novelene Williams-Mills ran a hard race to take it out in a fast 49.88. In heat two, Shericka Williams ran an even faster 49.51 to record a PB. Russia's Antonina Krivoshapka wasn't too far behind, wunning 49.67. In the third heat Sanya Richards and Christine Ohuruogu went head to head. Within 100m Richards was up on Ohuruogu's shoulder, and going into the last 100m had a lead of nearly ten metres. Looking around, she slowed to a jog for the last 100m, but there's no doubt that Richards is out here with a point to prove. Ohuruogu got in second to also qualify for the final.

Tristan Thomas and Brendan Cole lined up in the semis of the mens 400m hurdles (Cole after being reinatated after being disqualified on a technicality last night). Both Thomas and Cole didn't hit their stride, with Cole hitting the fifth hurdle when he was hoping for a big PB. Thomas ran 49.76 and Cole ran 49.92. But 14th and 15th respectively is certainly something the Aussie duo can be proud of. Meanwhile in the field Alwyn Jones battled hard in the qualifying rounds of the triple jump, and just missed qualification by 40 centimetres.

The womens shot put final got off to an interesting start with World and Olympic Champion Valerie Vili only sitting in fourth for the first two round. But everything was put right when Vili busted out a massive 20.25m throw in the third round to claim first place. She was shortly followed by local hero Nadine Kleinert from Germany who threw 20.20m to be right on Vili's tail. Both competitors held their positions until the fifth round, when Vili extended her lead by comfortably throwing 20.44m. And it stayed like that until the end, with Vili claiming yet another gold medal.

In the womens heptathlon, which had been unfolding over the past two days, UK's Jessica Ennis established a big lead in the first two events, her best events - a lead she held right to the end, with no one ever really getting close to catching her. In her first event, the 100m hurdles, she ran 12.93 (and has a PB of 12.81), and in the second, the high jump, she jumped 1.92m (and has a PB of 1.95m). It's no wonder no one could catch her! She claimed the UK's first medal of the Championships, and there's no doubt the hosts of the 2012 Olympic Games were glad to be on the board.

Then came the main event. The mens 100m final. Would the world record go? Would Bolt be beaten? Would he celebrate again, like he did in Beijing? What would happen when the three fastest men in history lined up for the first time together, all fit and ready to go? All questions were answered in 9.58 seconds - a new world record! And by 0.11 seconds, a margin unheard of. Bolt powered to the line, and didn't pull up, and was rewarded with a time that will prove very hard for anyone else to reach anytime in the distant future. Gay got off to a good start, and ran a US record to become the second fastest person ever, in 9.71. Powell, who has become much more playful with the crowd and the camera (perhaps in an attempt to relax before big races), finally shook off his big time nerves and claimed a gallant third place. But Bolt is truly a champion, and continues to shock like never before. He is the man who can do absolutely anything.

 

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'Hills are speedword in disguise '
Frank Shorter