A new face will be the center of attention at the marquee men's 100-meter race at the Beijing Olympics this summer. Jamaican Usain Bolt set a world record in that event of 9.72 seconds at the Reebok Grand Prix in New York yesterday, edging past the previous record of 9.74 set last September by longtime star Asafa Powell, also of Jamaica and who also held the previous mark of 9.77, which he attained three times. American Tyson Gay took second in 9.85. Bolt's victory, much less record, was unexpected because Bolt is a 200- and 400-meter specialist, and was thought to be saving his best for when he lines up against Powell in Jamaica's Olympic trials.
I was in the stands at the Seoul Olympics in 1988 and watched Jamaican-born Ben Johnson run his phenomenal 9.79 in the 100-meter final. The sprint for the title of World's Fastest Human is an arresting moment in sports -- not only a hundred thousand people in the stadium, but probably hundreds of millions around the world are transfixed by that spectacle on live television at every Olympics. In 1988 Johnson's speed broke a psychological barrier by going under 9.80, as the world record was 9.83. Of course, Johnson was disqualified three days later for using banned steroids. Could that rise up to haunt Bolt?
1 comment:
Any idea why the announcers were saying 9.71 when the scoreboard read 9.72?
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