Berlin: Usain Bolt extended his stunning domination in the sprints Thursday, adding the 200-meter gold to his tally at the world championships with yet another world record.
Gritting his teeth and pointing to the clock as soon as the record flashed, Bolt is now 5-for-5 in major sprint events, winning gold each time with a world record.
His time of 19.19 slashed .11 seconds off the mark he set last year at the Beijing Olympics and came four days after breaking his 100 record by the same margin.
"I was running my heart out," Bolt said. "I got my start right and that was the key. And when I got the start I knew was fine."
And, never shy to dream, he had a thought.
"If Queen Elizabeth knighthooded me and I would get the title 'Sir Usain Bolt?'" Bolt said. "That sounds very nice."
Alonso Edward of Panama was second, a massive .62 seconds behind Bolt. Wallace Spearmon of the United States took bronze.
"Just coming out there, I'm just waiting for the lights to flash 'game over,' cause I felt like I was in a video game," said Shawn Crawford, who finished fourth. "That guy was moving — fast."
Bolt's spirits got a boost before the start when teammate Melaine Walker added the world title to her Olympic gold in the women's 400 hurdles, another success for the Caribbean island with outsized performances at the championships.
After defending champion Tyson Gay had withdrawn injured, Bolt's main competitor stood beyond the finishing line — a huge track clock painted in the same colors as his Jamaican jersey.
Again he warmed up to the crowd like no one else can.
With a new take on former U.S. President John F. Kennedy's famous Cold War quote "Ich bin ein Berliner," Bolt pleased the locals with a training jersey saying "Ich bin ein Berlino," referring to the bear mascot of the championships.
His running was even better than his show. From Lane 5, he gobbled up all the opposition by the end of the curve, and then let those huge arms and legs loose in a whirl of unmatched speed.
Once across the line, he stuck his tongue much like basketball great Michael Jordan used to. And in athletics, he now has the same exalted stature.
He took off his yam-colored shoes, which had taken him though through eight races in six days, and he started celebrating on the eve of his 23rd birthday.
It was the first sultry evening in Berlin, with temperatures exceeding 30 degrees C (almost 90 degrees F), reminiscent of that same day, exactly one year ago, in Beijing.
"I definitely showed people that my world records in Beijing were not a joke," Bolt said.
During warm-ups, Bolt faked knocking out Spearmon, with the American happily playing along as he also was sucked up by the Bolt aura. Afterward, Spearmon could do nothing but applaud greatness.
Ahead of Bolt's magic, Yusuf Saad Kamel of Bahrain and Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia started their chase for their own doubles.
After winning the 10,000 on Monday, Bekele was dominant again and crossed first in his heat of the 5,000.
The Ethiopian great won a long-distance double at the Beijing Olympics and adding two more golds in Berli would establish him as perhaps the greatest distance runner Africa has had.
Running on two hours sleep, Kamel followed up victory in the 1,500 late Wednesday with a win and easy qualification for the semifinals in the 800.
"I did not sleep last night because I was very excited," said the Kenyan-born Bahraini, the son of two-time 800 world champion Billy Konchellah.
Favorites Yuriy Borzakovskiy of Russia and Abubakere Kaki of Sudan qualified alongside him.
Olympic hurdles champion Dayron Robles had a bad day, however.
The world-record holder had been slowed by a hamstring injury the past few weeks and after hitting the first three hurdles in his semifinal, he cried out in agony, grabbed his leg and slowed to a stop.
Robles had to be helped off the track, unable to lean to take any pressure on his left leg. It left the final late Thursday wide open.
In the men's pole vault, another Olympic champion was in trouble.
Steve Hooker made it to Saturday's final on a bad leg with his only jump of 5.65 meters, but was unsure whether he could continue.
"I am not sure about my appearance in the final," Hooker said. "It is just that I am not healthy."
Defending champion Brad Walker of the United States pulled out of the event before qualifying with a pelvic injury.
Thursday also has finals in the decathlon and the women's 400 hurdles and high jump.
A day after winning her first 800 world title amid a gender test controversy, teenager Caster Semenya was unruffled by the controversy when she accepted gold on the medal podium, grinning and singing along with the South African anthem.
Semenya dominated her rivals despite revelations that she was undergoing a gender verification test because of concerns she does not meet the requirements to compete as a woman.
"She said to me she doesn't see what the big deal is all about," South Africa team manager Phiwe Mlangeni-Tsholetsane said. "She believes it is God given talent and she will exercise it."
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