Beijing - When Usain Bolt told The Sunday Times that his 100 metres world record would not be broken in Beijing, he was only half right.

No one has come even close to his 9.72sec record here.

RELATED LINKS  HOW THE RACE WENT

No one - except Bolt himself.

But the 21-year-old Jamaican did not just break the record he set in May.

No sir. He shattered it, smashed it with such style and authority that he could afford to slow down with 20 metres to go, and bang his chest in a manner that screamed: 'Yeah! I'm the best.'

Indeed. And it was not what he did, but how he did it.

His winning time was 0.2sec ahead of silver medallist Richard Thompson from Trinidad and Tobago and 0.22sec ahead of third-placed Walter Dix of the United States.

Translate the time into distance, and it meant a 2-metre margin of victory.

He had dominated all the way, finishing first in his heats with times of 10.20, 9.92 and then 9.85 in the semi-finals - a time good enough for the gold last night.

Then there is the significance of his feat.

Only twice has the 100-metre world record been broken at the Olympic Games - Donovan Bailey in 1996 and Jim Hines in 1968.

So could anyone really blame the man for celebrating the way he did, taking a 10-minute victory lap, stopping to bury his head in the crowd, kissing Chinese, Jamaicans, Europeans and anyone who wanted a piece of him.

Asked about his elaborate celebration, the showman said: 'The crowd came to see a performance.'

Perform he did, living up to his pre-race promise at a Puma event two weeks ago when he spoke to the media.

Pity none of his contenders showed up.

American Tyson Gay did not even get an invitation to the elite party. The world champion finished fifth in his semi-final, just missing on a top-four finish and a ticket to the final.

He said: 'I just didn't have nothing in me today. I ran as fast as I could. I gave it 100 per cent.'

Compatriot Asafa Powell, the man whose world record Bolt rewrote in May, could only manage fifth, clocking 9.85sec.

'I was very shocked I didn't get a medal. I was very tired. My legs were dead.'

If only they had half of Bolt's energy and pace.

He started the race second last, taking 0.165sec to react to the starter's gun, and was ahead of only Churandy Martina of the Netherlands Antilles.

But it was expected, given his 1.96-metre frame.

But it is not the start where the race is won or lost for Bolt.

Having started out as a 400m who then specialised in the 200m, he has the stamina to finish the race stronger than his rivals.

'My 400m background helps me over 100m,' he explained two weeks ago.

'That's where all my speed in the last 50m comes from. It helps me go really fast.'

Yesterday, however, he did not even need his trademark finish.

By the halfway mark, he was already ahead. By the 70-metre mark, sensing that the race was already won, he slowed down, as if to give his rivals a handicap.

Afterwards, he said: 'As soon as I saw that I had covered the field, I knew I would win. I wasn't bragging.

'When I saw I wasn't covered, I was just happy. I really don't know what happened. It could even have been 9.60.'

Perhaps, unconsciously, he was saving energy. He competes in the 200m today, bidding to be the first man since Carl Lewis in 1984 to win the Olympic sprint double.

As he completed his victory lap, he stopped in front of the cameras and struck a pose. He even danced.

Stretching both hands to one side, one hand over his chest, the other reaching high into the sky, he resembled Zeus, the Greek god of the sky and thunder.

Fitting end for the Lightning Bolt.

marclim@sph.com.sg