Bolt leads Jamaican men in sweep of 200

LONDON - When the stakes are the biggest, the spotlight the brightest, Usain Bolt is as good as gold.

Putting the field far enough behind that he could slow down over the last few strides and put his left index finger to his mouth to tell any critics to shush, Bolt won the 200 meters in 19.32 seconds Thursday night, making him the only man with two Olympic titles in that event.

"That was for all that people that doubted me, all the people that was talking all kinds of stuff that I wasn't going to do it, I was going to be beaten," Bolt said of his "shhhhhh" gesture at the finish. "I was just telling them: You can stop talking now, because I am a legend."

He added the 200 gold to the 100 gold he won Sunday, duplicating the 100-200 double he produced in the Beijing Games four years ago. The only difference? In 2008, Bolt broke world records in both.

"I've done something that no one has done before, which is defend my double title. Back-to-back for me," Bolt said. "I would say I'm the greatest."

This time, Bolt led a Jamaican sweep, with his training partner and pal Yohan Blake getting the silver in 19.44, and Warren Weir taking the bronze in 19.84.

"The guy is just on another planet right now," Wallace Spearmon, the American who finished fourth in 19.90.

Afterward, the 25-year-old Bolt dropped to the track to do five push-ups - one for each of his Olympic gold medals so far. His stated goal heading to London was to become a "living legend," and he's making a good case for himself, even if International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said a few hours before the 200 final that it's too early to make such determinations.

"The career of Usain Bolt has to be judged when the career stops," said Rogge, who criticized the Jamaican four years ago for showboating by slapping himself on the chest at the finish of the 100.

"Let him participate in three, four Games, and he can be a legend," Rogge added. "Already he's an icon."

In Beijing, Bolt became the first man to win the 100, 200, and 4x100 relay in a single Summer Games, all in world-record times.

He is the first man to win two Olympic golds in the 200, and he did it consecutively. He is only the second man - joining Carl Lewis of the United States - with back-to-back 100 golds, and Lewis won his second when Ben Johnson was disqualified for failing a drug test.

Bolt took a momentary break from basking in his historic Olympic sprinting double to fiercely criticize Lewis.

Soon after winning gold Thursday, Bolt said he had "lost all respect" for Lewis after the American was quoted as saying Jamaica's doping controls were not as strong as other countries.

While not making any direct accusations, Lewis has said in recent years that Jamaican drug-testing procedures might need to be tightened.

The comments brought a stern reaction from Bolt at Olympic Stadium. With the smile that had been a constant fixture throughout his news conference vanishing from his face, Bolt lashed out at nine-time gold-medal winner Lewis after being asked whether he would like to be compared with him or late sprinting great Jesse Owens.

"I'm going to say something controversial right now: Carl Lewis, I have no respect for him," Bolt said. "The things he says about the track athletes is really downgrading for another athlete to say something like that. I think he's just looking for attention, really, because nobody really talks much about him.

"That was really sad for me when I heard the other day what he was saying. It was upsetting. I've lost all respect for him. All respect."

Asked which specific comments by Lewis made him angry, Bolt replied: "It was all about drugs. Talking about drugs. For me, an athlete out of the sport to be saying that. That was really upsetting for me. . . .

"To jump up and say something like that. As far as I'm concerned, he's looking for attention. That's all."

Bolt has won seven of the last eight major individual sprint titles in the 100 and 200 at Olympics and world championships, a four-year streak of unprecedented dominance. The only exception was a race he never got to run: Bolt was disqualified for a false start in the 100 final at last year's world championships, and Blake got the gold.

Jamaica's Usain Bolt is the first man to win the 100 meters and 200 meters in consecutive Olympic Games. Here are his winning times (in seconds):

100: 9.69*   200: 19.30*

100: 9.63**   200: 19.32

* – set world record

** – Olympic recordEndText