Birthday boy Bolt celebrates double

A tired Usain Bolt celebrated his 23rd birthday today after smashing his second world record in five days at the World Championships in Berlin.

After winning the 100 metres with a new world record of 9.58 seconds on Sunday, Bolt completed the sprint double by destroying his own world record in the 200m for good measure.

The Jamaican stormed to victory in the Olympic Stadium in 19.19secs, slashing 0.11 off the time set in Beijing last year – he also took 0.11 off the 100m record – with Panama’s Alonso Edward claiming silver in 19.81 and American Wallace Spearmon the bronze in 19.85.

Bolt is the first man to hold the 100 and 200m world and Olympic titles at the same time and was delighted to prove his brilliant display in the Olympics last year was no fluke.

Asked if Berlin was harder than Beijing, Bolt said: “Not mentally, physically it was harder because I wasn’t in the best of shape. The rounds took a lot out of me this time. I just want to go home and sleep.

“It definitely means a lot because I showed people that last year wasn’t a joke. I went through some problems this season but I came out here and I showed the world with hard work and dedication what is possible.

“I definitely came here trying to double. Now I’m double world champion, I’m double Olympic champion so I have to defend my titles. If Queen Elizabeth knighted me would I get the title ’Sir Usain Bolt?’ That sounds very nice.”

Bolt felt a 200m record was not on the cards after missing a month’s training this season following a car crash in April.

He required minor surgery to remove thorns from his left foot after the accident and that affected his ability to train for the 200m by running bends.

“I can definitely say I didn’t expect that (time) because I was a little bit tired,” added Bolt, who will sit out the heats of the 4x100m relay and rely on his Jamaican team-mates to get him into the final.

“I said let’s try because people are really looking out for this, I said it won’t hurt to try. So I tried really hard and now I’m really tired.

“Maybe next time I should just run the 200m or the 100m alone. My form was going backwards. I wasn’t running upright. It wasn’t a good race but it was a fast one.”

The Jamaican superstar again looked supremely relaxed before the race, wearing a t-shirt bearing the phrase “Ich Bin Ein Berlino” in reference to Berlino the bear, the official mascot of the championships.

But he was in determined mood once the race got under way at the second attempt, powering round the bend and gritting his teeth in determination until crossing the line and seeing the time on the electronic display.