Jamaica Captures Coveted Olympic Relay

Usain Bolt earned a triplet of sprint gold medals and world records Friday, an unprecedented Olympic feat that elevated him alongside Michael Phelps as the stars of the Beijing Games.

With his giant strides, he ran a lighting final bend that set anchor Asafa Powell on the way to a record 37.30 seconds in the 4x100 meters, chopping a massive .30 off the mark the United States had held for 16 years.

"Go Asafa!" Bolt shouted after handing over the baton, pointing Powell in the direction of a golden record. And his teammate did exactly that -- completing the only great run of his disappointing Olympics to turn reggae into the Olympic anthem of the celebrating Bird's Nest.

And Bolt, never at a loss for words, was not going to wait for IOC president Jacques Rogge to anoint the superlative of the Beijing Games.

"You can't explain the feeling you feel after the greatest Olympics ever," Bolt said.

And who to question him.

Bolt had already set the world record of 9.69 in the 100 and 19.30 in the 200, but that funky Jamaican was aching for an encore.

And Powell, a former 100 world record holder who only finished fifth in the 100, provided it. He crossed the line almost a full second in front of silver medalists Trinidad and Tobago, which finished in 38.06. Japan took the bronze in 38.15.

"I pushed myself to help Usain and his quest for three gold medals," Powell said.

The loss of the world record made the great American sprint debacle complete, failing to get a single gold in six events.


The Reggae News Agency

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