Sports

Bolt Blasts Away Opponents, Skeptics At Championship

Published

14 years ago

September 7, 2011

You never doubted him. Did you? Usain Bolt’s demolition of his 200m rivals at the weekend meant he left Daegu with the world gasping at a gold medal won rather than a red card received.

Had any other man in the field triumphed in such dominant fashion we would now be eulogising and jaw-dropping until flabbers could be gasted no longer.

With Bolt, as with everything he does, it’s slightly different.

For the first time in four years at a major championship he tore through the finish line without a searing “WR!” flashing up on the huge electronic clock on the in-field to his left.

It has become a ritual while watching Bolt, a beautifully familiar part of the act which has captivated us all since that humid night in Beijing three summers ago – watch him ping away from his rivals like a man on a bungee, glance at the scoreboard, roar with astonishment and disbelief.

No-one should ever feel a tinge of disappointment having watched a man run the 200m in 19.40 seconds.

But it is Bolt’s misfortune, as well as his greatest triumph, that he has turned the extraordinary into a routine occurrence, made the performance of a lifetime an annual event.

As Steve Cram remarked to me afterwards, “There isn’t much unbelievable left to do”.

Like spoilt children expecting ever more expensive gifts for Christmas, we should be grateful for what we have been given. By any standard outside Bolt’s own impossible gauge, this was a display of sprinting to savour and celebrate.

A look at the stats, and then the analysis.

This was the fourth fastest 200m ever run. Only Bolt himself and the almost equally remarkable Michael Johnson have ever gone faster.

Bolt’s margin of victory over Walter Dix was a massive 0.30 seconds. Only two men in history have finished further ahead of the man in silver in a World 200m final, Bolt with his 0.62 secs thrashing of Alonso Edward two years ago, and Johnson with 0.33 secs in Tokyo and Gothenburg.

It’s a similar story with the gap between first and third. Christophe Lemaitre ran the joint fastest time for bronze in history, shattering his personal best in the process, yet was still 0.40 secs down on the Jamaican superstar. Only twice has the margin been greater – 0.66 secs in Berlin, and Johnson’s 0.48 secs in Tokyo.

It is only Bolt who has run these sorts of times in World Championship history. The next fastest man on the list is Tyson Gay, and his 19.76 secs in Osaka is not in the same league. Even Johnson never ran faster than 19.79 secs at a Worlds.

To put Saturday’s performance into greater perspective, the average 200m gold medal-winning time at a World over the past decade is 19.87 secs. That itself is massively skewed by Bolt’s 19.19 record in Berlin. From 2001 to 2005, no man even broke 20 seconds.

Bolt conjured up this showing from a reaction-time of 0.193 secs, slower than anyone else in the field.

He has also done it in a season when his form has been comparatively weak and his times almost human; his average time over his last three 200m races before coming to Daegu was 19.97 secs, with two of those plus-20 sec showings.

“If that wasn’t unbelievable, it was still extremely impressive,” says Cram.

“No athlete can improve in every race. Look at Michael Johnson’s 19.32 secs world record from the Atlanta Olympics in 1996. No-one expected him to get close to that ever again, let alone every time he performed.

“Usain has had to contend with all the attention after the 100m, with niggling injuries over the last two years, with having changed his training routine. Despite all that he was able to put something very, very good back together, and to me that’s hugely impressive.

“What I like about him is that he saves his best performances for the big championships, not a Diamond League meeting in Zurich or Lausanne.

“He was genuinely under pressure after the 100m. Not only was that the third fastest 200m he has ever run, but he did it in a season when he’s apparently not running all that well and a week when he’s made the biggest mistake of his athletics career.”

What of the nitty-gritty of the run itself? How impressive a piece of technical sprinting was this, how close to Bolt’s physical best?

“It’s a big deal that he did that having been drawn in lane three,” says Darren Campbell, Olympic 200m silver medallist in 2000.

“Three’s a great lane, but not for Bolt. It’s too tight for him.

“That gave Dix a real opportunity in the race. If he could come off the bend in the lead, he could have put Usain under real pressure, and we haven’t seen him have to respond to something like that.

“But Bolt ran a very, very good bend. If he’d been drawn in lane six, with its more gradual curve, I honestly think he could have run 19.30 seconds.”

In that record-mangling run in Berlin, Bolt’s physical effort had been written all over his face, the gliding and smiling left behind in the 100m.

Here it was the same, a grimace on his face and his arms driving hard all the way through the line.

“You could see him glance to his right to see where Dix was, but when he saw he was clear he visibly exhaled and let his stride pattern do the rest,” says Campbell, who was in Korea as an expert for BBC Radio 5 live.

“He was working hard down the straight, but more because he wanted to put on a show for the crowd than because he had to to take gold.

“Usain uses the crowd to the absolute maximum, and then controls and feeds off the energy he generates. It’s why he threw his spikes to the crowd after the semi-final on Friday night, to get them going for the final.

“How good was this? Judge a champion by how they deal with adversity.

“There is nobody in Daegu who has been under more scrutiny than Usain Bolt, yet he comes out and does that. You tell me if he’s a true champion.”

One final question lingered in the mind as Bolt finally left the stadium in the early hours of Sunday morning, hundreds of reporters still beseeching him for an interview and dizzy spectators screaming like giddy schoolgirls.

That 19.19 was possibly the most remarkable world record ever recorded. It beat a mark in Johnson’s that was itself a staggering improvement on anything that had been seen before. Can Bolt – older, inestimably wealthier, under even more pressure – ever bring the record yet lower?

“If he does, it will only happen in London next summer,” says Campbell.

“I’m not sure how much longer he’ll go on for if he wins a second Olympic title, but there’s a bigger reason, the support he’ll get in London will be better than anything else he will ever have experienced.

“The crowd in Berlin was amazing, and that’s why he performed the way he did, but the one in London will be even better, so knowledgeable, so enthusiastic, so many Jamaicans. It will also be a long time since he’s run in the UK.

“If he draws his energy from the crowd, and it’s the best crowd he’s ever had, would you put it past him?”

Foryce writes for BBC Sports

Tom Fordyce

Sports

Forest Embarrass Liverpool At Anfield

Published

10 hours ago

November 24, 2025

The Tide

Liverpool’s season of abject misery worsened as they were beaten with embarrassing ease by a hugely impressive Nottingham Forest at Anfield.

Arne Slot’s Premier League champions were looking to bounce back from a heavy defeat at Manchester City, but instead ran into a Forest side revitalised under new manager Sean Dyche and looking back to their best.

Liverpool head coach Slot gave £125m British record signing Alexander Isak a start, but he was totally anonymous once more and only lasted 67 minutes.

Forest went ahead after 33 minutes when defender Murillo shot powerfully past fit-again Liverpool keeper Alisson to subdue an already anxious Anfield.

Igor Jesus had a second ruled out for handball, but Forest doubled their advantage 39 seconds after the break when former Liverpool defender Neco Williams set up Nicola Savona for a crisp finish in front of The Kop.

Liverpool could barely raise a response in a desperate display, Forest increasing their lead 12 minutes from time when Morgan Gibbs-White scored after Alisson saved from Omari Hutchinson.

It means Liverpool, who lie 11th before Saturday’s late fixture, have now lost six of their past seven Premier League games as Slot’s near £450m summer spending spree comes under further scrutiny.

Forest, meanwhile, are surging away from the relegation zone and are up to 16th.

Sports

Bundesliga: Oliseh Stars As Bayern Rebound To Thrash Freiburg

Published

10 hours ago

November 24, 2025

The Tide

Michael Olise scored twice and provided a hat-trick of assists as Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich came from two goals down to thrash Freiburg.

The visitors stunned the defending champions by taking a 2-0 lead after just 17 minutes when Yuito Suzuki scored from close range and Johan Manzambi rose highest to head home Jan-Niklas Beste’s corner.

Bayern, who had not lost in the league since March, responded superbly and had restored parity by half-time.

Teenager Lennart Karl fired into the bottom corner from Olise’s pass in the 22nd minute and set up the Frenchman for a fierce finish in first-half injury-time, although Freiburg goalkeeper Noah Atubolu should have done better.

Bayern took control in the second period as Dayot Upamecano headed home Olise’s corner to put them ahead for the first time.

England captain Harry Kane netted his 14th league goal of the campaign on the hour mark, before Olise made it three assists when he threaded a pass through for Nicolas Jackson to finish at the first time of asking in the 78th minute.

Winger Olise completed a sensational afternoon with his second of the game six minutes later, driving at the Freiburg defence and curling into the far corner.

A 10th victory in the first 11 games left Bayern eight points clear of second-placed Bayer Leverkusen, while Freiburg remain 10th in the standings.

Vincent Kompany’s side visit Arsenal in the Champions League on Wednesday with both sides having a perfect record of four wins so far in the league phase of the competition.

AS FAR Morocco Win African Women’s Champions League (8)

AS FAR held firm to beat debutants ASEC Mimosas 2-1 in the African Women’s Champions League final and become continental champions for the second time.

Hanane Ait El Haj put the Moroccan club ahead from the penalty spot in the 13th minute after Safa Banouk had been tripped by Aboa Yapo.

ASEC Mimosas rallied after the break and Ami Priscal Diallo netted a fine header from Sopie Brou’s cross to drag the Ivory Coast club level 10 minutes into the second half.

But AS FAR were handed a second spot-kick in the closing stages when Noura Diarra committed a rash challenge on Sofia Bouftini.

This time it was Zineb Redouani who stepped up to stroke home in the 85th minute and restore her side’s lead.

Asastasie Gbehi came close to forcing extra time but she poked wide of the post in stoppage time, and the centre-back was sent off after the full-time whistle for dissent.

AS FAR move level with South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns as two-time winners of the title, having first lifted the trophy in 2022.

The Rabat-based side will now take on Chinese’s Wuhan Jiangda on 14 December for a place at next year’s Fifa Women’s Champions Cup.

The winner of that match will face European champions Arsenal in the semi-finals of the inaugural competition early next year in London.

Sports

Barca Impress On Return To Camp Nou

Published

11 hours ago

November 24, 2025

The Tide

Barcelona moved to the top of La Liga on Saturday with an emphatic win over 10-man Athletic Club in their first match at the Spotify Camp Nou since May 2023.

Robert Lewandowski scored their first goal back in their iconic home, which had been closed for extensive renovations, in the fourth minute.

Ferran Torres then netted twice in the second half, each assisted by wonderful skill from Lamine Yamal, who was aged just 15 in his only previous Nou Camp appearance.

Fermin Lopez also struck in the 48th minute, while visiting midfielder Oihan Sancet was sent off for a crude challenge on Lopez just six minutes later.

Large sections of the Nou Camp remained closed for the game, which was played in front of a 45,157 crowd.

The rebuilding work, which was originally scheduled to be finished in November 2024, will eventually increase the stadium’s capacity to 105,000.

Barca moved to 31 points from 13 games and top on goal difference, but Real Madrid had the chance to replace them, if they won at Elche in their game in hand, late last night.

Poland striker Lewandowski got his side off to the perfect start when he drove his low shot in off the arm of Athletic Club goalkeeper Unai Simon for an eighth league goal of the season.

The home side extended their lead in first-half added time as Yamal’s superb pass off the outside of his foot set up Torres for a good finish.

Lopez made it 3-0 three minutes after the restart, drilling a shot past Simon from near the penalty spot.

Sancet’s tackle from behind on Lopez was initially deemed a yellow card, but upgraded to red after the referee consulted with the video assistant referee (VAR).

And just before full-time, Yamal twisted and turned before sending Torres away to claim his second goal, which was originally disallowed for offside but overturned following a VAR check.

It was a dream return to their ground, with the reigning Spanish champions having mostly played at the 55,000 capacity Olympic Stadium on the city’s Montjuic hill since renovations on the Nou Camp began in June 2023.

They were forced to play two matches at the 6,000-capacity Johan Cruyff Stadium, home to their women’s team, this season after failing to get a permit for the Nou Camp through safety reasons.

Pogba Returns To Action In Ligue 1 (6)

Paul Pogba played his first minutes of professional football in more than two years as he came off the bench during Monaco’s 4-1 defeat by Rennes at the weekend.

The 32-year-old was introduced in the 85th minute at Rennes’ Roazhon Park, though his side were already four goals and a player down, following a red card for captain Denis Zakaria.

French World Cup winner Pogba broke down in tears when he joined Ligue 1 club Monaco last summer, after his four-year doping ban was reduced to 19 months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas).

Pogba’s last competitive appearance was 811 days ago, when he featured for Juventus in a Serie A match against Empoli on 3 September 2023. He left Juventus by mutual consent in November 2024.

Pogba was provisionally banned from football for four years after a positive test for dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) in February 2024, following a doping test in August 2023.

Pogba maintained it was a mistake and that he was given a supplement without knowing it contained a banned substance.

The former Manchester United midfielder was permitted to return to football in March following the decision to reduce his ban.

Pogba watched from the bench as goals from Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal, Mahdi Camara, Breel Embolo and Ludovic Blas put Rennes out of sight.

Fellow substitute Mika Biereth pulled a goal back for Monaco in the 95th minute, but a second consecutive 4-1 defeat means Sebastien Pocognoli’s side drop to eighth in the table with 20 points after 13 games.