BERLIN — Teeth clenched, Usain Bolt grimaced as he churned toward the finish line, hoping to coax a fraction more out of his 6-foot-5 frame. The big yellow numbers flashing another world-record time told the Jamaican sprinter he had gotten what he wanted out of the 200 meters Thursday at the world championships.
Beyond the mark of 19.19 seconds, though, was something else — the fact that he is altering his sport. For the second consecutive race — five in a row, if his record-breaking runs at the Beijing Olympics are counted — Bolt’s biggest competitor was the clock. He bettered his old world record by a whopping .11 seconds, the same margin he shaved off the 100 four days earlier, when he finished in 9.58.
“I’m on my way to being a legend,” Bolt said, without a trace of arrogance.
Bolt, who turns 23 today, is erasing chunks of time from records that normally take years to break. He is beating the so-called competition by body lengths — this time, Alonso Edward of Panama was 0.62 seconds behind — in a sport often decided by photo finishes.
“He’s a gift to this earth,” said American sprinter Shawn Crawford, who finished fourth. “He’s a blessing to the track game. . . . I’m just waiting for the lights to flash ‘game over’ ’cause I felt like I was in a video game.”
American Wallace Spearmon was third.
In other finals:
• Trey Hardee won the decathlon, edging Leonel Suarez of Cuba. He joins Americans Dan O’Brien, Tom Pappas and Bryan Clay as decathlon winners at world championships.
• Bolt’s teammate Melaine Walker added the world title to her Olympic gold in the women’s 400 hurdles. Lashinda Demus of the U.S. captured the silver.
• Ryan Brathwaite of Barbados won the 110-meter hurdles in a photo finish. Americans Terrence Trammell and David Payne finished second and third, respectively. Dayron Robles, the Olympic champion from Cuba, hurt his hamstring in the semifinal round.
• Blanka Vlasic of Croatia defended her title in the high jump.
