Usain Bolt said he never had a single doubt in his mind that he would >win the 200 metres title, for the fourth straight world championships on Thursday, even if others were not so sure.
After a season where a pelvic problem limited him to a handful of sprints, in times that were a long way from his world records, the Jamaican came to Beijing and pulled two big performances out of the bag to sweep the sprints.
While his victory over the in-form Justin Gatlin in the >100 metres on Sunday was by a mere hundredth of a second, in the 200 he pounded across the line in 19.55 seconds, nearly two tenths of a second ahead of the American (19.74).
"This is great. This is the fourth time over > 200 metres and it means a lot to me. For me, it's a big deal," he said in a trackside TV interview.
"You just can't explain. Hard work and dedication to the sport, especially this season when a lot of people doubted me and said I'm going to lose. I've just shown my championship potential. There was never a doubt that I was going to win this one for me," he said.
Bolt said he knew he had to make a quick start and trust his finishing speed over the last 50 metres, to see off Gatlin, who had run the best time of the year, before Thursday's final.
"I knew I had to run hard to 150 for sure. I think the race was going to be decided by who got to 150 first. So I knew I had to run hard," he said.
"I have never come off the corner second, so I knew I had to run hard because I know Justin could see and knew he had to run fast. So I was just focusing on trying to get off the turn and then run as fast as I could to 150 and then maybe hold my form together," the runner said
Bolt said some of his self belief came from his long-term coach Glen Mills.
"I always have the utmost confidence. With a coach like Glen Mills, there's never a doubt as long as he says I can do it, I believe him. He's like my guardian angel. He knows how to get me prepared, he knows how to get it right,” he said.
"As long as my coach is confident, I'm super-confident,” he added.
The victory gave Bolt 10 world championship golds, two better than American track greats Carl Lewis and Michael Johnson in second place.
The Jamaican could make it 11 in the 4x100m relay on Saturday, where he hopes to take on Gatlin and his American team mates in a third clash of the championships.
"In the world relays Justin Gatlin had a big game in their victory. I guess he will be tired now. There will be no reason why we should not win the relay,” he said.
The only time Bolt put a foot wrong the entire evening was when he was > knocked over by a TV cameraman on a Segway, during his lap of honour.
"What's going on? He tried to kill me!" Bolt exclaimed.
