At the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. I shall never forget sitting in the front row and watching Ben Johnson hurtling towards the finish line in the 100 metres and then raising his hand aloft in an almost contemptuous “I am Number One” gesture.

Twenty years later, sitting — lucky me — in the front row again, my indelible memory of the Beijing Games will always be that magical last 100 metres when Usain Bolt looked left and right, spread his arms wide and thumped his chest for sheer joy.

He was glorifying in his talent, treasuring a moment that he would relive for the rest of his life. So will I.  

Kevin Fylan adds: This is the third in our series of snapshots from the Beijing Games, where Reuters reporters give their thoughts on what it was like to be there at the key moments of the Olympics.

Read Snapshot Beijing, 1: Matt Emmons, by Erik Kirschbaum here.

Read Snapshot Beijing, 2: Matthias Steiner, by Sophie Hardach here.

More to follow over the course of the day.

PHOTO: Usain Bolt (L) of Jamaica celebrates winning the men’s 100m final of the athletics competition in the National Stadium at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 16, 2008. REUTERS/Gary Hershorn

Usain Bolt of Jamaica won the Olympic 100 metres on Saturday, shattering the world record in the process with a time of 9.69 seconds.

Bolt thumped his chest in celebration as he crossed the line, after leaving Richard Thompson of Trinidad and Tobago (silver) and American Walter Dix (bronze) trailing at the Bird’s Nest Stadium.

Asafa Powell finished out of the medals, while Tyson Gay was eliminated in the semi-finals.

Bolt had looked capable of running an extremely fast time as he ambled through the heats and so it proved in Beijing on Saturday as he pulled off a win that will live long in the memory.

But what do you think of his achievement? Let us know in the comments. We’ll have more on this later, but for now, here’s another photo:

Reuters photos: Gary Hershorn (top), Jerry Lampen (bottom)