Bolt: I will be in London

Double Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt wants to achieve legendary status by defending his titles at London 2012.

The Jamaican dismissed weekend reports he did not intend be in the British capital in three years’ time to try to retain the 100m and 200m gold medals he won with such style in Beijing.

“It is always great to go and defend your title. I could never have said that,” said the 22-year-old.

“That would be a great feat for me. I want to be a legend and if I am going to be a legend that would be a milestone for me.”

The Jamaican notched up another milestone yesterday when he ran the fastest time over 150m in the Bupa Great CityGames sprint.

He set a new best time of 14.35 seconds – smashing the previous world’s best by 0.40secs.

Bolt, who broke both the 100m and 200m records before anchoring his nation to the 4x100m relay title in Beijing last summer, insists he is a long way from firing on all cylinders.

And that sends out a serious message to anyone looking to compete with the triple Olympic medallist at the World Championships in Berlin this summer.

“I think I’m probably 70% so I really have to buckle down. I still have a lot of work to do but I am getting there,” added Bolt.

“I think this has helped because I haven’t run a serious race all season. I think I could go faster because I’m not in the best of shape and I slipped at the start. I could have gone faster.

“I am hoping by Berlin I will be 100%. I don’t try to peak before and I try to work towards it race by race.”

Bolt was only passed fit on Monday after he injured his foot in a car accident just over a fortnight ago and was given a bye into the final.

And the omens were good as, after an afternoon of heavy rain, the sun broke through just in time for the 22-year-old’s appearance in front of a patient crowd who were not disappointed.

He covered the first 100m in 9.91, which although well short of his record-breaking 9.69 in Beijing, was still impressive on a very damp temporary track constructed on Deansgate in the city centre.

Even better was his speed over what is termed “the flying 100” – from 50-150m - which he covered in just 8.70 and organisers were left wishing they had extended the track by more than its 225m length as Bolt struggled to stop before the barriers.

It all added up to a run which eclipsed the previous best of 14.75 by American Tyson Gay, whose time was recorded during a 200m race and not a straight 150m sprint.

Bolt finished well ahead of Britain’s Marlon Devonish, who ran 15.07, and said he would target further world records this year.

“You can always expect great things from me because I always go out there and perform at my best,” he said.

“I’m hoping I can break a few more [records] this season.”