It was all too easy for Usain Bolt

Jamaica's Usain Bolt scorched to Olympic 100 metres gold, opening his arms wide in celebration 20 metres from the line before clocking a world record 9.69 seconds.

The 21-year-old claimed his country's first Olympic title in the blue riband event and capped an astonishing rise to the top of his sport.

His former world record was 9.72 seconds.

Richard Thompson of Trinidad and Tobago took the silver in 9.89 and American Walter Dix the bronze in 9.91.

Early celebration

Bolt's time would have been even better if he had not looked around and pumped his arms with victory assured 20 metres from the line.

"I wasn't bragging," said Bolt after being mobbed by Jamaicans in the stands.

"When I saw I wasn't covered, I was just happy. I was always the fastest. I told you all I was going to be number one and I did just that.

"I wasn't really worried about racing fast. My only aim was to be a champion."

It was the first time the men's 100 metres world record had been broken in the Olympic final since Canadian Donovan Bailey in 1996.

Jamaican Asafa Powell, whose world mark Bolt bettered in May, once again failed to deliver on the big stage and finished fifth.

"I messed up big time," he said.

"My legs died on me. He was definitely untouchable tonight. Usain is spectacular. I'm very happy for him."

Usain Bolt gets the party started early

Gay's failure

World champion Tyson Gay of the US did not even make the final, finishing fifth in his semi to end hopes of a showdown between the three fastest men of all time.

The atmosphere was still crackling as the six Caribbean and two American athletes settled into the blocks.

At 1.96m, Bolt was never going to be the quickest of starters but he got away well enough and, head down, found his huge loping stride to hit the front after about 25 metres.

"I got a great start," he said.

"I was getting good starts all the way to the final. I was getting better and better, it was crazy, phenomenal."

Pulling clear at 70 metres, he glanced across to his right to look for Powell and, when he saw nothing but empty track, started celebrating.

Double looms

Bolt, a 200 metres specialist who had run only one professional race in the shorter distance before this year, will now turn his attention to becoming the first man since Carl Lewis in 1984 to win the Olympic sprint double.

Anxious to avoid the tougher training regime of the 400 metres, Bolt reached an agreement with his coach last year that if he broke the Jamaican 200m record he would be allowed to try the 100 metres.

The reggae-loving Bolt duly delivered and ran an impressive 10.03 seconds in his first 100 metres outing in Greece in July last year.

The world 200 metre silver medallist picked up where he left off with an identical time in his first outing of 2008 but his third run in Kingston clocked a remarkable 9.76 seconds.

His time was then the second fastest in history and his coach Glen Mills said he could have broken Powell's record of 9.74 had he not turned to check on his rivals towards the end.

Better was yet to come. In New York on the last day of May, Bolt got off to a flyer and thundered down the track in 9.72 seconds and Jamaica had a new world record holder.

He has oozed confidence since and looked to be running well within himself as he stormed through the first three rounds of heats in Beijing.

A keen cricketer before he turned to athletics, Bolt first announced his talent when he became the youngest world junior champion by winning the 200 metres in Kingston in 2002 at the age of 15.

Now, he will be remembered as the man who brought the first 100 metres gold to his island, which in Linford Christie, Donovan Bailey and the now disgraced Ben Johnson, had in fact produced three Olympic 100 metres champions for other countries.

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