Jamaica's Usain Bolt crosses the finish line of the men's 200 meters race during the IAAF Athens Grand Prix 2008 at Athens Olympic stadium July 13, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
Jamaica's Usain Bolt, the 100m world record holder, on Sunday ran the sixth fastest 200m of all time at the Grand Prix meeting? to increase the pressure on his Beijing Olympics sprint rivals.
Bolt clocked 19.67 sec to improve on his year's best performance of 19.83 set four weeks ago in Ostrava in the Czech Republic.
The 21-year-old set the new 100m world record of 9.72 sec in New York in May and his form on Sunday showed that he is poised to become the first man since Carl Lewis in 1984 to win an Olympic 100m-200m double.
His run here in the 2004 Olympic stadium came despite an unfavorable wind.
However, he is keen to dampen expectations that he is likely to smash Michael Johnson's world record of 19.32 sec, which was set at the 1996 Olympics.
"That's really tough to beat. Maybe next year," said Bolt.
Usain Bolt of Jamaica (center) wins the men's 200m ahead of Christian Brendan of Antigua and Brian Dzingai of Zimbabwe (left) during the Athens Grand Prix Tsiklitiria 2008 at the Olympic stadium in Athens on Sunday.(Xinhua/AFP Photo)
Of his current 200m rivals, only Americans Tyson Gay (19.62 sec), Xavier Carter (19.63) and Wallace Spermon (19.65) have run faster, but only Spermon will run the event at the Olympics.
Gay was injured in the quarterfinals of the American trials while Carter did not feature in the final.
"I still have work to do," said Bolt. "My coach saw the race on television and said there's a fault to rectify."
Bolt has plenty of time to iron out the problems ahead of the Olympics as he plans to race the 100m in Stockholm on July 22 and a 200m in London four days later before heading to China.
Cuba's Daryon Robles also sent out a warning for the Olympics, clocking 13.05 in the 110m hurdles. It was well off his world record 12.87, set last month, but still the third-fastest time of the year so far.
"I felt really good. I am working day after day to fulfil my personal objective for the Olympics," he said.
"I don't want to think too far ahead yet. I honestly believe it is a question of getting to the (Olympic) final because it is, of course, a desire and dream of every athlete to get an Olympic medal."
Derrick Atkins of the Bahamas took the 100m for the second year running, clocking 10.10, while Louis van Zyl produced a stirring finish to plough past Americans Danny MacFarlane and Reuben McCoy to take the 400m hurdles.
The South African's winning time of 48.22 was shy of American Kerron Clement's 47.79, the best so far this year, but there was a season's best in the high jump where Sweden's Stefan Holm cleared 2.37m.
The 2007 triple jump world champion Nelson Evora produced a leap of 17.23 to see off Olympic silver medalist four years ago Marian Oprea and the Cuban Arnie David Girat while Louis Tsatoumas gave the home crowd something to cheer when he leapt 8.44m, the third best long jump of the year.
Veronica Campbell-Brown made up for disappointment in 2007, winning the women's 100m in 10.92.
The Jamaican said: "I am satisfied with my race. I have been training very hard and I hope I will stay healthy to achieve my goal in Beijing. I adore Athens. I run my best races here."
Sanya Richards of the US missed out by 0.03 seconds on the fastest time of the year in the 400m but still won with something to spare in 49.86.
In the women's javelin, world record holder Osleidys Menendez of Cuba had to settle for second behind the Czech world champion Barbora Spotakova who won with a throw of 63.70m.
(Agencies via?China Daily July 15, 2008)
