09/08/2012
Usain Bolt tonight became the first man ever to win the Olympic Games sprint double twice in succession.
While millions would already consider Bolt a legend for winning triple gold in Beijing and defending his 100m title at London 2012 last Sunday, the Jamaican insisted he also had to retain his 200m title to achieve such status.
And the 25-year-old did precisely that with another imperious performance, leading a Jamaican clean-sweep ahead of 100m silver medallist Yohan Blake and Warren Weir, both of whom are just 22.
Bolt's winning time of 19.32 was outside his own world record of 19.19 which he felt might be a possibility, but the 80,000 crowd had already witnessed one such feat as Kenya's David Rudisha stormed to 800m gold in 1:40.91, taking 0.10 off his own record.
Bolt had lost to Blake over 100 and 200m at the Jamaican trials - and later underwent treatment on a stiff back which was causing hamstring problems - but gained sweet revenge over both distances in London.
Asked about lowering the world record he set when winning the world title in Berlin in 2009, Bolt said: 'I think it was possible...but I guess I wasn't fit enough. I was fast but I wasn't fit enough.
'I came off the corner, I could feel the strain on my back a little bit so I was trying to keep my form, but I stopped running because I knew it wasn't going to be a world record. When I came off the corner I could feel it.
'It was hard. I really dedicated [myself] to my work, I know what London meant to me. I came here and I gave it my all and I'm proud of myself. I didn't get a world record - I really wanted to do it in the 200m - but I'm happy.'