BEIJING -- Usain Bolt isn't among the many athletes who listen to music with headphones before they compete. His coach, Glen Mills, doesn't allow it, worrying it will interfere with Bolt's concentration.
But that didn't stop Bolt from doing a little dancing before he stepped into the blocks Saturday night at the Olympics, before the crowd of 91,000 at the Bird's Nest went quiet for the start of the men's 100-meter final. He was moving to a music in his head that he later said was nothing specific, undoubtedly just something in the lifeblood of athletes from the Caribbean, six of whom were in the race.
Maybe he was hearing the reggae of his native Jamaica, since it had three runners in the final, or the calypso that comes from Trinidad and Tobago, because it had two finalists, or the tumba and kaseko sounds from the five islands that make up the Netherlands Antilles, which had its first finalist ever.
The gun fired and Bolt started moving straight down the track, and then, after 80 meters, he began grooving to the crowd. His movements became as much boogie as sprint, with arms spread wide, then his right hand slapping his heart, a full-body celebration of footwork like none before in the history of running.
Bolt won the 100 meters in a time, 9.69 seconds, that broke his 11-week-old world record of 9.72 and could have been much faster had he not turned the end of the race into Carnival.
His rivals still couldn't catch up. Richard Thompson of Trinidad and Tobago ran a personal-best 9.89 and was farther from first than any Olympic silver medalist since 1984. Walter Dix of the United States was third in a personal-best 9.91, and Churandy Martina was fourth in a Netherlands Antilles-record 9.93.
Asafa Powell of Jamaica, the former world-record holder, had two left feet at the big dance again, finishing fifth. Reigning world champion Tyson Gay of the U.S. was eliminated in the semifinals, unable to make up for time lost to a hamstring injury six weeks ago.
"In the past the United States sprinters dominated," Thompson said. "It feels good for the Caribbean to be creating this kind of dominance, and for me to be a part of it."
Never before Saturday had there been more than three Caribbean sprinters in an Olympic men's 100 final. Never before had there been three Jamaicans or a Jamaican champion, even if emigres Linford Christie won for Britain in 1992 and Donovan Bailey for Canada in 1996. Hasely Crawford of Trinidad and Tobago was the only previous Caribbean athlete to win the 100 title (1976) for his own country.
