Bolt strikes again – ‘Operation Legend’ back in full gear

Usain Bolt says that now he’s going to get serious, after running the fourth-fastest 200 meters in history when he wasn’t in “tip-top shape,” one has to wonder what he has in store for the 2012 London Games.

Usain did not bolt out of the blocks prematurely this time around, but his finish was lightning fast as he clocked the fourth-fastest time ever and became the first man in 24 years to win back-to-back IAAF World Championships 200m titles after his powerful 19.40 run last night inside the Daegu Stadium.

Bolt said he might have run faster, but with a new revised format of the rounds came a change in the way lanes are assigned, and Bolt ended up in No. 3, instead of the more preferable outer course.

“It was a bit tight for me,” said the 1.95-meter Jamaican. “I’ve never run in lane 3. I can’t say what time I would have run, but I definitely would have been faster because it would have been more fluent. I would have gotten into the straight and swung off the corner with a little bit more speed.”

The other rule that has cost Bolt was, of course, the false start rule, which was changed last year and no longer gives runners a second chance. Bolt’s attempt to defend his title in the 100 ended when he jumped the gun.

Bolt said criticism of the rule was misdirected.

“It was a big disappointment to be thrown out of the 100 meters, but I keep saying it was my fault, so I can’t really blame the false start rule because I knew the rule,” he said.

Bolt has said on several occasions that he hopes to go down as a legend in the sport and believes that he has quite a way to go to secure that status. However, winning here in Daegu was important for his ambitions.

“I wanted to prove that I am still the best, and I did that,” Bolt pointed out.

Prior to his historic run, Bolt was up to his usual antics, an indication that he had truly placed last Sunday’s 100m false start and subsequent disqualification behind him.

Source: Agencies