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Usain Bolt Wins Gold

Jamaica's Usain Bolt wins men's 100-metre race in London Olympics in 9.63 seconds creating new Olympic record. 

Racing against a star-studded field in which every qualifier ran faster than 10 seconds in the semifinal, Bolt successfully defended his 2008 gold medal in the 100 meters by setting a new Olympic record of 9.63 seconds.

"I executed, and that's the key," Bolt told reporters after celebrating his fourth career gold medal with a victory lap. "I stopped worrying about the start. The end is what's important."

Yohan Blake of Jamaica took silver in 9.75 seconds, with Justin Gatlin of the United States capturing bronze in 9.79 seconds. A training partner of Bolt, Blake equalled a personal best with his runner-up time. Also setting or equalling personal best times were Gatlin and Ryan Bailey of the United States, who finished fifth. Of course, with a who's who of international track stars -- largely hailing from the United States and Jamaica -- it was no surprise to see the scoreboard light up with such stellar times.

 

"It will take a 9.7 to even get a medal. It's mind blowing," Tyson Gay of the United States told the Daily Mail shortly before the Games. Gay burned to a personal season's best 9.80 to finish fourth. True to his prediction, all top three finishers crossed the line under 9.8 seconds.

While the 25-year-old Bolt did not better the world record mark of 9.58 seconds that he established in Berlin in 2009, he did best the 9.69 time he posted in the event at the 2008 Olympics. Despite noticeably slowing up to celebrate before even reaching the finish line during the 100-meter dash in Beijing, Bolt's time was then a world record. While that mark didn't stand very long, rumors of Bolt's lack of fitness lingered for months leading up to the games. He was defeated by Blake in the 100-meter and 200-meter races at the Jamaican Olympic Trials and revealed just days before the Olympics that he had been dealing with a back problem that had created hamstring issues. By the time that Bolt reached the track for his first 100-meter heat on Saturday morning, there were more questions swirling around him than answers.

London Olympics Opening Ceremony Photos

The 2012 London Olympics got underway with a spectacular opening ceremony at the Olympics stadium here on Friday night.

And after a long suspense, there were seven young athletes who lit the Olympic cauldron. The chairman of the London Organising Committee, Sebastian Coe, and the president of the IOC, Jacques Rogge, delivered speeches and Britain's 86-year-old monarch Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the Games.

Unlike the 2008 Beijing Olympics' curtain raiser, which featured 2,008 pounding drummers and a cauldron-lighter who seemed to float in the air of the Bird's Nest stadium, London 2012 opening ceremony had 70 sheep, 12 horses, 10 chickens and nine geese - recruited by Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle along with a cast and crew of 10,000 presented a quirky, humourous and vibrant vision of quintessential Britain, its history and future.