Thunder-Bolt

[Interceptor]

Usain Bolt breaks another record -this time in the unusual distance of 150m.
Plus a confident prediction about the 100m record.


Bolt runs fastest 150m in history
May 18, 2009 - 11:54AM
Usain Bolt

Usain Bolt interacts with the crowd after his blistering run in Manchester.

Triple Olympic champion Usain Bolt ran the fastest ever 150m on Sunday in a street race held in a chilly and windy Manchester city centre.

Bolt came home in 14.35sec, beating the previous best recorded by Italian Pietro Mennea of 14.8 in 1983.

Britain's Marlon Devonish was second in 15.07sec.

In the women's race, American Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie clocked 16.54sec to beat Britain's Olympic 400m gold medallist Christine Ohuruogu, who ran 17.10sec.

Jamaican Bolt, 22, had earlier predicted he would smash his own world 100m record this year.

He said bettering the 9.69 seconds he set in Beijing last August "shouldn't be a problem" this year.

"My coach expressed his views in Beijing, saying I could run 9.54, and I can definitely do that," he told the BBC.

Meanwhile, Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie comfortably won the Great Manchester Run by 34 seconds with Kenyan Vivian Cheruiyot winning the women's race.

However, Gebrselassie failed in his bid to reclaim his world 10km record as gusting winds made his task impossible.

The 36-year-old - holder of 26 world records during his career - eased to victory but found a strong headwind in the final five kilometres impossible to overcome as he failed to better the world best mark of 27min 1sec run by Kenya's Micah Kogo at the end of March.

Gebrselassie, whose major target this year is the Berlin Marathon in September, timed 27min 39sec ahead of Ali Zaied of Libya (28:13) and Ukrainian veteran Sergiy Lebid (28:36).

"Today it was wonderful in the first half but on the way back the wind was horrible," said Gebrselassie, who nevertheless posted the fourth fastest time in the world this year.

"I wanted to run a world record, but in the second half it proved too difficult."

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/sport/bolt-runs-fastest-150m-in-history-20090518-b82c.html