Runaway Train

(BOLT (TRANSITIVE VERB): To start suddenly and run away)

I've given up on watching the Olympics on my non-Tivo, non-DVR, 20th-century TV, waiting for NBC to get around to showing me the few moments it cares about approximately 24 hours after they happen. Instead, I've been hanging out on the IAAF web site during the day, checking the results as they come in. Then I watch the videos after they've been posted. It has come to that.

Anyway, so I knew that Usain Bolt had run wild in the 200 long before it was broadcast on NBC, but I didn't get around to watching the video until a few minutes ago.

It was so out of this world, so without precedent that I don't think I'll ever think of sub-20.00 as being particularly fast ever again. That Bolt ran such a time in his eighth race in a week, and into a 0.9m/s headwind defies belief.

It was only a year ago that I called Tyson Gay's performance at the world championships the greatest sprint double in history, but it looks plain and ordinary in comparison with Bolt's combined 100+200 meters in 28.99 seconds.

Bolt might have ticked off IOC head Jacques Rogge, but I've got no problem with Bolt this time, as he ran at least 200m all out on the way to his shocking takedown of the formerly unreachable Michael Johnson.