Sprint to history
BEIJING — Move over, Michael. Make way for Usain.
The Beijing Olympics will no longer be remembered only for what Michael Phelps did in the pool. Usain Bolt made sure of it on the track Wednesday night.
Already the champion at 100 meters, Bolt whizzed through the 200, too, making him the first winner of both Olympic sprints since Carl Lewis in 1984.
Yet Bolt one-upped Lewis, Jesse Owens and the other guys who've pulled off the 100-200 double. The long, lanky, joyous Jamaican also set a world record in both races, and that's never been done at an Olympics.
"I blew my mind," said Bolt, "and I blew the world's mind."
So now it's time for a new debate, sports fans. Which is more impressive: Phelps' eight gold medals and seven world records or Bolt leaving no doubt that he's the fastest man in the world, the fastest man ever?
Bolt's victory made memorable a day that was supposed to be a bit of a lull before the big finish this weekend. Only 11 medals were decided, fewest since the first day of competition.
There was also was the first-ever medal of any color at any Olympics for Afghanistan (a bronze in men's taekwondo), the debut of BMX cycling and another doping case, this one involving a medal winner.
The first-ever BMX medal, however, will be postponed a day as heavy rain Thursday morning forced a number of changes to the schedule. Olga Kaniskina of Russia flashed a huge smile as she won the women's 20K race walk, a marked contrast to the competitors in the men's javelin who struggled in slippery conditions.
Later, Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh won their second consecutive gold medal in beach volleyball, 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 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."
The International Olympic Committee said it is investigating Ukraine's Lyudmila Blonska. If found guilty of a doping offense, the 30-year-old Blonska would lose her silver medal in heptathlon and be expelled from the games.
Another piece of news is that these Summer Games are on pace to be the most-watched in history, a figure skewed by how many of China's 1.3 billion residents were tuned in.
Then again, Phelps — and now Bolt — are making for must-see TV.
Bolt needed only 19.30 seconds to go from start to finish and he made sure not to waste any time showboating.Pushing with all he had in his favorite event, Bolt broke Michael Johnson's mark that had stood since Atlanta by a mere 0.02, but his margin of victory — 0.66 — was the biggest ever in the Olympic 200.Bolt is the ninth man to sweep the 100-200. But Bolt is likely more excited about being the first man to own the 100 and 200 world records since fellow Jamaican Donald Currie did it in the 1970s.One more number of note: 22, Bolt's age as of Thursday. During his victory lap, a version of "Happy Birthday" played over the loudspeakers inside the Bird's Nest as Bolt took off his gold shoes and wrapped the Jamaican flag around his shoulders like a scarf.While most eyes were on Bolt, judges saw that the second- and third-place finishers — including American Wallace Spearmon — went outside their lanes. They were disqualified, bumping Americans Shawn Crawford and Walter Dix up to silver and bronze.
This is what goes down as a "tough test" for the U.S. squad of NBA All-Stars: A five-point lead in the second quarter that turned to 12 by halftime ... and was never close again."Sooner or later we'll impose our will," U.S. point guard Chris Paul said. "I don't know if you can keep up with us for 40 minutes."Australia sure couldn't. After a tight game into the fourth quarter on Aug. 5, the Aussies hung with the American until the middle of the second quarter but that was it. Kobe Bryant scored nine points during a 14-0 surge to open the second half and the only question after that was how much they would win by. It wound up being 31 points, 116-85.Next up will be Manu Ginobili and defending champion Argentina on Friday night, with a spot in the gold-medal game going to the winner.
The guys went to extra innings against Japan, too, and also pulled out a win.Brian Barden singled in the go-ahead run to break a scoreless tie in the 11th inning on the way to a 4-2 victory. The Americans earned the third seed in Friday's medal round, with the Japanese getting fourth.
