Unbelievable: Johnson

A year ago Michael Johnson predicted Usain Bolt would probably break his then 12-year-old 200 metres world record, but not yet. An hour later he was eating his words as his 19.32 was taken by the Jamaican's 19.30.

Johnson, this time working as an analyst for the ‘BBC’ at the world championships, said he thought Bolt was too tired to take it down further, only to watch stupefied as he took 11 hundredths off to complete a clean sweep of world and Olympic sprint titles.

"Unbelievable -- a ridiculous race," Johnson said. "The bend is unbelievable. No one has ever run a bend like this and probably never will. He ran hard and tried as hard as possible.
He was up on (Wallace) Spearmon 15 metres into the race.

"This is the most incredible bend ever. He doesn't run with technique -- he's rocking all over the place -- and then he's already got a big smile on his face at the end."

And, after all the strutting and staring that characterised much of the world of sprinting in the last 20 years, Bolt has done it while looking as if he is preparing for a jog on the beach with his friends.

"He has a feel for the moment," said Spearmon, whose 19.85 seconds for third would have won all but two of the previous 11 world championship finals. "If you watch him before the race he is loving everyone screaming his name. He feeds off the crowd and it shows on the track.  "He's a great competitor. He's fast and he's what the world of track and field needs right now."