BEIJING — Usain Bolt’s eyes darted to check the numbers on the trackside clock once, twice, three times, more.
For the only time in eight races at these Olympics, Bolt was really trying — gritting his teeth, pumping his arms, churning his golden spikes with those long, long legs. In the closing steps of the 200-meter final Wednesday night, with no other runner nearby, Bolt trained those mischief-loving eyes on the bright numbers he knew would ultimately define what already was a sublime performance.
And so he lunged at the finish. Yes, all alone out front, 25 feet clear of the nearest competitor, his second gold medal of the Beijing Games assured, the Jamaican dipped his head and thrust his 6-foot-5 frame through the last step of a sprint as special as the world has seen. Bolt leaned forward as if trying to edge an opponent who’d matched him stride for stride.
Just past the line, Bolt twisted his torso and turned his head around for one more glance at those numbers. Like everyone else who was watching, Bolt needed to be sure he could believe what he saw.
The final tally on that clock was truly astounding. Bolt’s time of 19.30 seconds broke the world record of 19.32 set by Michael Johnson at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, a world record that so many were so sure would last far longer than it did.
“I just blew my mind,” Bolt said, “and blew the world’s mind.”
He lifted his arms, then fell on his back, exhausted and exhilarated.
The milestone was magical.
The moment, too.
The medal? Consider this one of those once-in-a-generation instances at an Olympics where it was an afterthought, even if Bolt did put himself alongside U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps — the man with a record eight golds in Beijing — in forging one of the lasting memories from these Summer Games.
Even if Bolt is the first man since Carl Lewis in 1984 to win the 100 and 200 golds at a single Olympics, and the only man ever to do it by breaking world records in both.
“I was, like, looking at myself,” Bolt said of checking out the overhead video scoreboards, “and I was like, ‘That guy’s fast!’”
The official results show that seven other men, including Shawn Crawford and Kim Collins, Walter Dix and Wallace Spearmon, were also competing this day, were also trodding that same Bird’s Nest track, were also running as hard as they could, nearly as fast as anyone ever has.
Crawford was the defending Olympic champion. Collins was the 2003 world champion. Dix won a bronze in the 100 behind Bolt on Saturday. Spearmon owns two world championship medals in the 200 and ranked as the fourth-fastest man in the distance’s history — yes, faster than Bolt’s previous best of 19.67 — until Wednesday.
No one provided a challenge.
Heck, no one finished within a half-second, an eternity in a race of this length.
And after two runners, Churandy Martina of Netherlands Antilles and Spearmon of the United States, were disqualified for running out of their lanes, the official results had silver medalist Crawford of the U.S. behind by 0.66 second — the biggest margin of victory in a 200 final at any Olympics. The DQs left Dix, another American, with bronze.
“I’ve been dreaming of this since I was yea high,” Bolt said. “So it means a lot more to me actually than the 100 means.”
Even before the race’s halfway point, when Bolt held a big lead that he was padding with each stride, it was quite clear that he really was racing against the men who long ago proved their excellence and set the sport’s standards.
Men such as Johnson. Or Lewis. Or Jesse Owens, who also pulled off the 100-200 double.
None of them was as tall as Bolt, who is turning what once was thought to be a liability in sprinting into an asset.
“He got an incredible start. Guys of 6-5 should not be able to start like that,” Johnson said. “It’s that long, massive stride. He’s eating up so much more track than others. He came in focused, knowing he would likely win the gold — and he’s got the record.”
That size is what the experts point to when asked how it is, exactly, that the man who calls himself “Lightning Bolt” could be so darn fast and could improve so, well, fast.
“It’s his anatomy. He’s just blessed with an uncanny frame, an uncanny quickness, a huge competitive heart,” said Renaldo Nehemiah, the former world record-holding hurdler.

U.S. men’s basketball team blows away Australia in 2nd half

BEIJING — Don’t doubt this U.S. men’s basketball team — and sure don’t challenge them, either.
Especially if it’s going to make Kobe Bryant flash his NBA MVP form.
Bryant scored 25 points in his best game in Beijing, and the men’s U.S. Olympic team advanced to the semifinals by beating Australia 116-85 on Wednesday night.
The United States will play defending champion Argentina on Friday night for a spot in Sunday’s gold medal game. The Argentines beat Greece 80-78 in a quarterfinal victory watched from behind the baseline by Bryant and members of the U.S. coaching staff.
Argentina beat the U.S. in the semifinals of the 2004 Olympics.
Locked in what looked like another tough game with Australia, the Americans sent the Aussies’ upset hopes down under with a 14-0 burst to open the second half, featuring nine points from Bryant.
“Early in the game, they made a lot of tough shots,” U.S. point guard Chris Paul said. “We were doing what we were supposed to be doing and they made tough shots, but sooner or later we’ll impose our will. I don’t know if you can keep up with us for 40 minutes.”
LeBron James added 16 points for the Americans, who are guaranteed a chance to play for a medal. They need two more wins for their first gold medal in a major international competition since the 2000 Sydney Games.
“I think they’re going to be very, very, very tough to beat,” Australia coach Brian Goorjian said.
As the U.S. expected, with the gold medal getting closer, the games are getting tougher.
“Australia played extremely well for the first 20 minutes,” James said. “In the third quarter, we said the first three or four minutes we need to pick it up a little bit defensively and make the extra pass offensively.”
Now the Americans move on to the round where their recent dreams have died. They lost in the semis four years ago in Athens and then in the 2006 world championship.
Everywhere the Americans go, they are reminded of those recent failures. A back page ad in the China Daily on Wednesday had pictures of Bryant and James below a caption reading, “Nothing is more motivating than bronze.”

May-Treanor, Walsh strike gold again in beach volleyball

BEIJING — The Chinese and the wretched Beijing weather were no match for Misty May-Treanor and “Six Feet of Sunshine.”
May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh won their second consecutive gold medal in beach volleyball this morning, playing through a steady and sometimes driving rain to beat China in straight sets and extend their winning streak to 108 matches in a row.
The Americans defeated Wang Jie and Tian Jia 21-18, 21-18 to repeat their Athens victory and confirm their dominance of the sport. They did not lose a set in seven Olympic matches, playing through smog and swelter and a drenching gold medal game that soaked their skimpy uniforms.
“The rain makes it better,” Walsh shouted afterward, unable to contain the California girl enthusiasm that earned her the nickname “Six Feet of Sunshine.” “We felt like warriors out there. The pressure of playing China made it pretty intense.”
Earlier, Xue Chen and Zhang Xi won China’s first beach volleyball medal, beating Brazilians Talita and Renata 21-19, 21-17 for the bronze.
Walsh put an early end to China’s chances to add a gold when she quick-hit May-Treanor’s pass between Wang and Tian.
 

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