Jamaica’s Usain Bolt completed a breathtaking sprint double at the Beijing Games on Wednesday, breaking the 200 metres world record that many had thought unbreakable to take his second Olympic gold medal.

The contrast between this and his winning run in the 100 could hardly have been more marked, as this time he gave it everything he had to go under the old best mark, Michael Johnson’s 19.32, by two hundredths of a second.

While Bolt had ambled through the final quarter of the 100, and easily lowered the world record to 9.69, this time he was grimacing with effort as he made for the finish.

There was no one within two, three metres of him as he dipped for the line, glanced over at the clock and leapt with joy as the clock stopped at 19.31.

That was soon rounded down to 19.30 - a mark that will surely not be bettered, certainly by no one else, for a long time to come.

It completed an incredible sprint double for the world’s fastest man and cast an indelible mark on the Olympics. None of us in the 91,000 crowd at the Bird’s Nest will forget it.

What did you make of his performance? What does it mean for Jamaica?

Let us know in the comments.

PHOTO: Usain Bolt of Jamaica gestures after finishing first in his men’s 200m semi-final of the athletics competition at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in the National Stadium August 19, 2008. REUTERS/David Gray