Bolt completes sprint double

Dinesh Weerawansa reporting from Russia

MOSCOW, Aug. 17 - World’s fastest man Usain Bolt underlined his track supremacy with another blistering dash in men’s 200m final to complete a grand sprint double on the penultimate day of the 14th IAAF World Championships at Luzhniki Stadium here on Saturday night.

Bolt, who won the men’s 100m gold last week, clocked 19.66 seconds - this year’s world’s leading timing in the men’s 200m, to complete that elusive sprint double. The Jamaican sprint merchant’s mark today was much slower than his men’s 200m world record of 19.19 seconds set at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin.

Compatriot Warren Weir took the silver with a personal best of 19.79. USA’s Curtis Mitchell prevented a clean Jamaican sweep by one hundredth of a second and took the silver in 20.04, ahead of Bolt’s team mate Nickel Ashmeade (20.05) who finished fourth.

However, Russia sprang the shock of the day, beating much fancied USA in men’s 4 x 400m final clocking three minutes and 20.19 seconds, this year’s world’s leading. USA settled for the silver with a season’s best 3:20.41, ahead of Great Britain (3:22.61).

Among the other gold medallists who won their respective finals were Meseret Defar of Ethiopia (14:50.19 in women’s 5,000m), Stephan Kiprotich of Uganda (two hours, nine minutes and 51 seconds in men’s marathon), Svetlana Shkolina of Russia (2.03m in women’s high jump) and Brianna Rollins of USA (12.44 seconds in women’s 100m hurdles) and Vitezslav Vesely of Czech Republic (87.17m in men’s javelin throw).