London: There is no dearth of drama when Usain Bolt comes out of the tunnel. The energy he infuses into the people, who are merely watching him, has to be seen to be believed.
After stopping the clock at 19.32 seconds and retaining the 200m title, he indulged in some impromptu press-ups to indicate that he still had a lot left in him. As if that was not obvious from the way he finished with a finger on his lips, silencing the crowd.
Bolt led a Jamaican clean sweep as he finished with a season best timing of 19.32 seconds while compatriot and close rival Yohan Blake took the silver medal with a season best timing of 19.44 seconds.
The young Warren Weir of Jamaica claimed the bronze with a personal best timing of 19.84 seconds amid a thunderous applause from a jam-packed crowd at the 80,000-seater Olympic stadium.
Bolt could have easily finished with a better timing but he slowed down towards the end and was seen looking behind to see how far Blake was when he crossed the finishing line.
Even in the victory lap, it was a Bolt show all the way. A camera man’s delight, Bolt ensured that there were enough moments for the photographers to capture.
At one point, he himself took over the cameraman’s job by snapping pictures of his team mates Blake and Weir. He took the camera from one of the photographers and returned it to him after displaying his photographic skills.
And no victory celebration can be complete without Bolt’s now famous “to the world” pose which has now become his signature pose. He did it few times during his victory lap much to the delight of the hordes of cameramen who were eager to capture various facets of the “Thunder Bolt”.
He made it a point to stop for a while in front of the Jamaican spectators, who could be identified by holding aloft their national flag or wearing the Jamaican jersey.
They took photos of him, kissed him and hugged him but Bolt did no show any signs of irritation. In fact, it seemed he was loving the spotlight, the attention as it was his moment.
Bolt said: “This is the one I wanted and I got it. I’m now a legend, I’m also the greatest athlete to live.
“I’ve got nothing left to prove. I’ve showed the world I’m the best and, right now, I just want to enjoy myself.”
Bolt later admitted that despite streaking to a unique second successive Olympic sprint double, decathlon champion Ashton Eaton is the best athlete in the world.
“I’m a great athlete, but to do 10 events, especially the 1500m, I have got to give it to him!” Bolt said.
Bolt blasts Carl Lewis
Following the race, Bolt made use of the attention on him to criticise former Olympic champion Carl Lewis, after the American was quoted as saying Jamaica’s doping controls were not as strong as other countries.
“I’m going to say something controversial right now. Carl Lewis, I have no respect for him,” Bolt said. “The things he says about the track athletes is really downgrading for another athlete to say something like that. I think he’s just looking for attention, really, because nobody really talks much about him.” (Agencies)