9.69 seconds

That was how long it took Usain Bolt from Jamaica to run across 100 meters. If you watched the live telecast of the run, you could see the huge distance between him and the others. He took the most coveted athletic crown with ease, soaring across the line meters clear of Trinidadian Richard Thompson in silver. American Walter Dix won bronze.

The much-touted finals run-off between Bolt, former world record holder and fellow Jamaican Asafa Powell and world champion Tyson Gay never happened.

Gay, suffering from a hamstring injury, was too slow in his semi-final to qualify for the late evening race in front of a roaring 90,000-strong crowd in Beijing's magnificent Bird's Nest stadium.

Powell, 25, who has never won a global sprint title, finished well outside the medals.