The Reebok Grand Prix meet took place at Randalls Island on Saturday night, but it was a home crowd for Jamaica's newest sprint star at 100 meters, Usain Bolt. And the 6,490 fans were greeted with a stunning performance as Bolt, like lightning out of nowhere, set a world record in 9.72 seconds, competing in the event for only the fifth time in a professional race. His mark eclipsed the previous record of 9.74, set last September by his countryman Asafa Powell, and left Tyson Gay of the United States, the 2007 world champion, more than a yard behind in 9.85. The Jamaican crowd got a double dose of victory as Veronica Campbell-Brown, the reigning world champion, also won her race, in 10.91 seconds, the fastest women's 100 in the world this year. A majority of fans at Icahn Stadium seemed to be dressed in green and gold. Some waved the Jamaican national flag. The Jamaican national anthem was sung during a rain delay, and reggae music blared on the public address system. Miss Jamaica even interviewed sprinters while wearing her sash. The crowd's enthusiasm was not dampened by a rain delay, even as the men's 100m was run nearly two hours after it had been scheduled because of weather concerns. Bolt, who is tall for a sprinter at 6 feet 5 inches, had an imperfect start in the first attempt to run the race, but received a reprieve after another sprinter false-started. Given his height, the 21-year-old Bolt has not been a technically precise, ballistic starter. Where shorter runners seem to explode out of the blocks, he seems to unfold. At least until Saturday, his strategy for the 100m had been to try to remain close over the first 30 meters, then draw away with his long stride. The field, which paired Bolt against Gay in what was considered a possible preview of the Olympic final at this summer's Beijing Games, appeared nervous. The second attempt to run Saturday's race was aborted when runners stood up in the blocks. On the third attempt, Bolt got a searing start and Gay never threatened. Gay ran only one-hundredth of a second off his personal best, but he finished a distant second. The tailwind was 1.7 meters per second, under the allowable limit of 2 meters per second. Bolt threw his arms up and circled the track, beating on his chest at one point at the sheer dominance and improbability of the moment. “I knew if I got Tyson on the blocks, I'd have a better chance of winning,” Bolt said. “I got him.” Gay managed to close slightly, but quickly he felt the race slip beyond his control. “He got a pretty good start, maybe a little better than I thought,” Gay said. “I didn't realize his stride was so big. I honestly think we were on the same rhythm, except his stride pattern was so much bigger. He covered more ground than I did.” Until last month, Bolt was a 200-meter specialist. He finished second in the 200m to Gay at the 2007 world championships. Then, as a speed workout, he entered a 100-meter race in Jamaica in early May. The result was then the second-fastest 100 ever run — 9.76 seconds. All of a sudden, Bolt had become a major player in the 100m as well. Until Saturday, though, his coach, Glen Mills, cautioned against expecting Bolt to run the 100m in Beijing, saying it might be foolhardy to risk a chance at winning a gold medal at 200 meters by trying to double in the shorter race. “I think it will change today,” Bolt said. “I wasn't looking for a world record, but it was there for the taking.” Saturday was the first time that he had competed in the 100m against world-class competition outside Jamaica, even if a majority of fans were on his side. “You can have the world record, but to me, if you don't have a gold medal in the Olympics or world championships, it means nothing,” Bolt said. –NYT __
