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Berlin » Teeth clenched, Usain Bolt grimaced as he churned toward the finish line, hoping to coax a fraction more out of his 6-foot-5 frame.
The big, yellow numbers flashing another world record time, told the Jamaican sprinter he had gotten what he wanted out of the 200 meters Thursday at the world championships.
Beyond the mark of 19.19 seconds, though, was something else -- the fact that he is altering his sport.
For the second straight race -- five, if his record-breaking runs at the Beijing Olympics are counted -- Bolt's biggest competitor was the clock.
He bettered his old world record by a whopping .11 seconds, the same margin he shaved off the 100 four days earlier, when he finished in 9.58.
"I'm on my way to being a legend," Bolt said, without a trace of arrogance.
No debate there. He is erasing chunks of time from records that normally take years to break.
He is beating the so-called competition by body lengths -- this time, Alonso Edward of Panama was 0.62 seconds behind -- in a sport often decided by photo finishes.
"He's a gift to this earth," said American sprinter Shawn Crawford, who finished fourth. "He's a blessing to the track game. ... I'm just waiting for the lights to flash 'game over,' 'cause I felt like I was in a video game."
Bolt can't be caught, even when he gives away tips. Just before the start of the race, Bolt told
In other finals:
» Trey Hardee won the decathlon, edging Leonel Suarez of Cuba. He joins Americans Dan O'Brien, Tom Pappas and Bryan Clay as decathlon winners at world championships.
» Lashinda Demus of the U.S. captured the silver in the 400 hurdles.
» Americans Terrence Trammell and David Payne took advantage of Dayron Robles' absence in the 110 hurdles finals to finish second and third, respectively. Robles, the Olympic champion from Cuba, hurt his hamstring.
