Jamaican runner Usain Bolt broke the 20-second mark at the Bislett Games in Oslo, Norway when he ran the fastest 200 meters of the year. Bolt is the one and only athlete to achieve the under-20 milestone this season when he finished the race in 19.79 seconds. This season record is a timely comeback from a recent rare loss for the Olympian. In Rome last week, Bolt lost to American runner Justin Gatlin by 100th of a second (0.01seconds) in the 100-meter dash.
New Bislett record
Bolt holds the current world record for the 100-meter race at 19.19 seconds. He now holds the Bislett record, toppling the record set in 1996 by Namibian runner Frank Fredericks by 0.03 seconds.
Bolt said that at the end of the day, it’s about winning and not about the time. Even if he runs 20 flat and he wins, he’d be happy, he added.
A good race
After his win, Bolt said that he was not in bad shape as he thought he was. The athlete added that it was a good run and he could not complain. “It’s a sub 20,” he emphasized. Nevertheless, Bolt acknowledged that he could have done better and said that he needs to work on his corners. After his loss in Rome, the state of his conditioning was questioned by some.
At the start of the race, Churandy Martina of the Netherlands had a false start and was disqualified. Bolt said in an interview afterwards that he knew how it felt like having been disqualified in South Korea at the world championships in 2011. Bolt was at the sixth lane and his win was cheered on by applauding fans.
Moscow in August
After setting new Bislett track and field record in Norway, Bolt is back in his homeland in Jamaica preparing for the world championship. This highly competitive event will be held in Moscow this coming August. Bolt said that his goals are the same, and these are to win three gold medals and be the world’s best.
Photo Credit: Usain Bolt
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