By Symone Goss, World-Track
BERLIN — The newly established 100 metres world record of 9.58seconds, set by Usain Bolt to win the World Championships title in Berlin on Sunday will not come as a big surprised to his coach Glen Mills, who had already seen the mark forthcoming a year ago.
The 22-year-old Jamaican established himself as the king of sprinting when he set world marks of 9.69 and 19.30 seconds to win the 100m and 200m titles in Beijing a summer ago.
But Bolt eased down way behind the finishing line during his early 100m celebration and still produced a world record, a performance Mills predicted would have been lowered to exactly 9.58 had he raced over the line.
"I’ve heard my coach (Glen Mills) talk of 9.58 seconds as a possible time (in the 100m) and I believe him," Bolt told La Gazzetta dello Sport last December. "He knows what he’s talking about and I believe him."
It was only a few days ago that mills said Bolt was in the sort of shape to emulate his Beijing feats, and his crushing100m victory on Sunday, following his familiar chicken nuggets lunch, means he has completed half the journey.
"I was definitely ready for the world record and I did it! I had nuggets for lunch and I am proud of myself," Bolt said afterwards.
"I was focused and came out to execute, I did not think that I could run 0.1s faster than my own WR. But for me, anything is possible.
"I did not worry about anything before the race. I do the worrying outside of competition. This is the best audience, all the energy these guys gave me. The game is now on for the 200m gold."
Bolt and Gay will start their 200m pursuit on Tuesday with the opening rounds of competition.
