The Audacity of Dope

swagged.

After all his breathtaking performances so far, there was never a doubt that Usain Bolt would win the 200m sprint.  The only question was would he be able to break Michael Johnson’s legendary record?  Well, after smashing the competition yet again, the answer was an emphatic yes.  Bolt ran a 19.30, edging Johnson’s 19.32, and cemented himself as the premier sprinter in the world…and perhaps all-time.

As usual, NBC’s lockdown on the video is obnoxious, but you can watch it on their site here.  International people can check out this bootleg while it’s still up.

O.O.O. (other Olympic observations) from the last few days:

• They did Spearmon and Martina dirty by disqualifying them in that 200m sprint for stepping on the lane lines.  Rules are rules I guess, but Walter Dix summed it up when his private comments got picked up by the cameras after he was awarded a medal…”I still lost.”  What a conflicted feeling.
• Taylor, Clement, and Jackson sweeping the 400m hurdles for America was a great moment.
• Heartbreak for Liu Xiang.  Even more for Lolo Jones.
• I’m glad Shawn Johnson managed to snag a gold on the balance beam.  She deserved one and it would have been a shame if she finished without the top prize.
• Why are you supposed to be 16 in gymnastics, but there are 14 and 15 year old divers?
• Did CBC really tell me that Wang Xin is 4’6″ and weighs 62 pounds?  No wonder she’s a good diver…it’s impossible for her to make a splash.
• Speaking of tiny divers, Haley Ishimatsu missing on her last attempt and failing to qualify for the finals was real sad.  Watching her try to fight tears (at the end of this clip) was damn near heartbreaking.  Andrea Kramer’s interview was cold too…very unfair to put a 15 year old through that.
• He Chong and Alexandre Despatie killed it in diving.  These Chinese gymnasts and divers are unbelievable.
• I respect water polo players, but that sport is awful to watch.  Just brutal.
• Two other sports that absolutely suck are synchronized swimming and speedwalking.  Yeah, those speedwalkers go pretty fast, but you know how they could go even faster?  By running.  GTFOH.  And these events get to stay in the Games while baseball and softball are ending after this year?  Blasphemy.
• The “Redeem Team” is playing better than I expected.  Let’s do this fellas.
• Hey, 2 days since a racist picture has surfaced.  We’re on a roll!
• Misty May-Treanor is a beast and Walsh ain’t so bad herself.  That final was intense.
• LOL @ having whitewater and flatwater rafting be broadcast next to each other.  One looks bad ass, the other looks boring as hell.
• I thought ‘table tennis’ players got all defensive when you called it ‘ping pong’?
• Matthias Steiner winning a gold for his late wife was the most tearjerking moment of the Games so far.  Well done, big man.
• Natalie du Toit competing as an amputee is incredibly inspirational.
• The man appointed the “world’s greatest athlete” by the Wall Street Journal, Roman Sebrle, is struggling in the decathlon.  I guess that title could go to your head kinda easily.  Bryan Clay from the US is killing after 3 events, but we have a ways to go.  Besides, the world’s greatest athlete is Lebron, hands down.
• One more time, say it with me people: “bei” – “jing”