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)

Michael Phelps made it six golds in six races to edge closer to the record of Mark Spitz, while the three fastest men in the world whetted the appetites of 90,000 fans at the Bird’s Nest as swimming and athletics vied for attention on Friday.

Phelps was untroubled in the men’s 200 metres individual medley, moving to within one win of Spitz’s record from the 1972 Games.

Can anything stop Phelps? Well, yes, it is possible. American team mate Ian Crocker holds the world record and is up against him in the 100m fly on Saturday morning.

Can anything stop Usain Bolt in the men’s 100m on the track? That looks more doubtful. Bolt appeared to have plenty in hand as he won his second heat in 9.92 seconds and it will be a major surprise if anyone can catch him on Saturday.

The two rounds of the 100m heats were arguably the highlight of the first day of action at the Bird’s Nest, where the first track gold went to Tirunesh Dibaba in the 10,000 following her terrific burst over the last 300 metres.

At the tennis, Roger Federer showed there is life in the old dog yet as he recovered from his defeat by James Blake in the singles to partner Stanislas Wawrinka to victory over the Bryan brothers in the doubles.

Of course, the gold medal everyone wants is in the singles and it looks increasingly likely to go to Rafa Nadal following his win over Novak Djokovic. Nadal will play Chile’s Fernando Gonzalez for the title after his win over Blake in a heated semi-final.

For pic of the day, look below. Story of the day was probably American swimmer Rebecca Soni smashing the world record to win the 200 metres breaststroke two years after having heart surgery. My colleague Keith Weir chose the following as quote of the day:

“I told her I won! And she said,’Fat girl, you did!’ … This wasn’t just my dream, it was hers, so we were just so excited.”

That was China’s Tong Wen disclosing what her coach said to her after her victory in the women’s +78 kg judo final.

For joke of the day, listen to the end of our podcast. From six appeal to sax appeal … the old ones are the best…

Photo by David Gray /Reuters

Until today I would not have thought it possible that somebody could amble 100 metres in 9.92 seconds but that is what Usain Bolt did in his second heat of the event on the first day of athletics action in the Bird’s Nest.

The gods had been kind and produced a clear-skied day hot day with minimum breeze and Bolt enjoyed his time in the sun.

He started off running 10.2 in the opening heat and never appeared to reach full speed, was easing down from about 70 metres yet clocked a time that would have won the gold medal in the Moscow Olympics 28 years ago.

He returned in the evening for a another leisurely stroll around the Bird’s Nest to make it clear that his world record of 9.72 is extremely vulnerable.

The near-capacity 91,000 crowd certainly enjoyed it, and were similarly pleased by the efforts of Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay, Bolt’s two biggest, but by no means only, rivals for the gold in Saturday’s final.

With the Olympic flame burning fiercely from its Cornetto cauldron and the echo of the starter’s gun rippling up through the magnificent triple-tiered stadium, there was no question that the fans were watching something special.

There was not too much local success to get the Chinese supporters going but they let rip when heptathlete Liu Haili made her clearances in the high jump.

What they will be like when when Liu Xiang goes in the 110 hurdles final on Aug. 21 I can scarcely imagine. But I’m looking forward to finding out.

Mitch Phillips, from the Bird’s Nest

PHOTO: Usain Bolt of Jamaica competes in the first men’s 100m heat at the National Stadium during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, August 15, 2008. REUTERS/Gary Hershorn

NOTE: This post was updated after the second heats in the evening.

My colleague Balazs Koranyi blogged yesterday about how hard it is for athletes in the build-up to the Games, when their preparations are pretty much complete and there’s too much sit and think.

Well, maybe not every athlete. The Jamaican track and field team had no qualms about letting their hair down and showing off their considerable assets at a pre-Games party this week.

The coaches, physios and psychologists were forgotten for a while as most of the squad were squeezed into a Beijing Jazz club on the eve of Jamaican Independence Day. And if anyone doubted that muscles could be sexy, they should have been there.

A group of local women set the scene when they whipped off their traditional masks and long silk gowns to deliver a raunchy display that left the movie Dirty Dancing resembling a church picnic. Not to be outdone, hurdler Shevon Stoddart and long jumper Chelsea Hammond joined them while modelling their new track outfits.

Decathlete Maurice Smith then went through his “Mr Universe” poses, a skin-tight suit amplifying his formidable physique, while 100 metres world record holder Usain Bolt finished things off by joining the band for an impromptu reggae jamming session.

The whole thing was performed to a background of delirious young girl fans, a mass of media cameras, and two security men whose dour glares never faltered, even when the whooping was taking place inches from their faces.

Prime Minister Bruce Golding chipped in with a good luck message by video link and the group went off into the night all smiles and excitement ahead of what, for most of them, will be the biggest adventure of their lives.

PHOTO: Sprinter Asafa Powell of Jamaica smiles as he attends a flag-raising ceremony ahead of the Olympic Games, August 5, 2008. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok

There was a classic moment at a media conference with 100 metres world record holder Usain Bolt today. Bolt’s coach told Reuters last week that the Jamaican would run the 100m as well as the 200m but he seemed unaware of the fact on Tuesday.

“I still have to decide,” he said, before being informed of his coach’s comment.

“Well it seems like I’m doubling then,” he added. “I thought I was 80 percent sure I would be doubling, now I’m 100 percent.”

Bolt also spoke to my colleague Nick Mulvenney and we have a rough cut video out there now. See below.

Click here for the full story.

Russell Boyce writes: Great contacts and hard work led to Reuters News Pictures photographer Hans Deryk getting exclusive pictures of Usain Bolt, the 100m world record holder at the National Stadium.

The simple picture of Bolt posing with the specially made gold running shoes that he will wear when he aims for Olympic gold are a perfect blend of a sports news value with timing and place. After all, how much better could it get: the fastest man, being seen for the first time at the venue with is new running shoes.

Bolt posing, sitting down in front of the Bird’s Nest, his shoes in the foreground and arms stretched has led to a great shaped image that embraces the viewer and draws them into an eye catching picture.

Russell Boyce is Reuters chief photographer, Asia. For a selection of other great Reuters pix from the Games click here. 

Note: The text was amended on Aug. 6 at 0347 to remove a reference to Bolt defending his title.

The big race is on for Beijing, after Usain Bolt’s coach confirmed to Reuters that the Jamaican 100 metres world record holder would run both the 100 and 200 metres at the Beijing Olympics.

As my colleague Gene Cherry reports, neither the coach, Glen Mills, nor Bolt had previously confirmed the Jamaican would run the 100.

“He will run both,” Mills said in an e-mail on Saturday.

It means we can now look forward to Bolt taking on compatriot Asafa Powell and the American world champion Tyson Gay in what will be the biggest race of the Games for most people outside China.

PHOTO: Asafa Powell pulls ahead of Usain Bolt to win the men’s 100 meters in Stockholm, July 22, 2008. REUTERS/Bob Strong