Usain Bolt ran the world’s fastest 150m to win a soggy street sprint on Sunday that marked his return to action after a car crash left him requiring foot surgery.
In windy Manchester, the triple Olympic champion ran down the northern English city’s main thoroughfare in 14.35 seconds, breaking Donovan Bailey’s 12-year-old world best of 14.99 seconds in the rarely run 150m. Pietro Mennea of Italy ran in a hand-timed 14.8 seconds in 1983.
The Jamaican appeared to stumble after surging out of the blocks, but then got into his stride. He then struggled to slow down after the finish despite organizers extending the temporary track by 70m and crashed into a camera.
PHOTO: REUTERS
“I was kind of worried, I thought I was going to die at the end,” he joked. “My agent told me that the finish of the race was the clock and I was running after the race was done, about 50m more.”
The last 100m was run in 8.70 seconds, considerably faster than his world record time of 9.69 seconds that won Olympic gold last August.
“Oh wow — that’s good,” he said after being informed of the time.
Last month, Bolt crashed his BMW into a ditch along a highway and required minor surgery on his left foot after stepping onto thorns while getting out of the wreckage.
Marlon Devonish of Britain was second in 15.07 seconds, followed by Ivory Williams of the US and Britain’s Rikki Fifton in the four-man race.
Debbie McKenzie Ferguson of the Bahamas won the women’s race in 16.54 seconds, ahead of Britain’s Olympic 400m champion Christine Ohuruogu, who finished in 17.10 seconds.
Earlier, the man hailed as the world’s greatest long distance runner, Haile Gebrselassie, won the Great Manchester Run by 34 seconds, but a strong wind stymied his attempt to regain the 10km world record.
SIBLING RIVALRY: Marc Marquez was locked in a duel with his little brother, falling behind at one point before recovering for his first season-opening victory since 2014 Six-time world champion Marc Marquez yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening Thailand Grand Prix to complete a dominant debut weekend at his new Ducati Lenovo Team, having also romped to Saturday’s sprint. The Spanish great took the 26-lap grand prix by 1.732 seconds for his 63rd MotoGP victory from younger brother Alex Marquez, who is still seeking a first checkered flag, with Francesco Bagnaia third to complete an all-Ducati podium. It completed a perfect weekend for Marc Marquez, who took pole position, the sprint victory and the grand prix win for a maximum 37 points to open the 22-leg 2025 campaign. He led from
AC Milan’s slender hopes of reaching next season’s UEFA Champions League took another hit on Thursday with a 2-1 defeat at Bologna which left them eight points from Serie A’s top four. Sergio Conceicao’s team sit eighth, some way behind fourth-placed Juventus after losing an entertaining contest at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, a match which was rescheduled from October last year due to torrential rain and flooding. Swathes of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy, much of which is fertile agricultural land, had been left under water following a massive autumn downpour. Dan Ndoye prodded home the decisive goal in the 82nd minute
Former Australian motorcycle gang member-turned-golfer Ryan Peake, who served a lengthy jail term for assault, yesterday produced a “life-changing” maiden win to qualify for The Open Championship. Peake held his nerve for a one-stroke victory at the New Zealand Open, earning him a berth at the major in Portrush, Northern Ireland, in July, pending clearance to travel as a convicted criminal. The 31-year-old from Perth celebrated animatedly and was showered with champagne by friends on the 18th green of the Millbrook Resort course near Queenstown after a redemption story rarely seen in the refined sport of golf. Peake held back tears as he
MILWAUKEE PREVAIL: Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 28 points as the Bucks withstood Nikola Jokic’s 27th triple-double of the season to beat the Nuggets Golden State star Stephen Curry on Thursday drilled 12 three-pointers in a scintillating 56-point display that carried the Warriors to a 121-115 victory over the Orlando Magic. Curry’s explosive performance helped the Warriors dig themselves out of a 17-point hole, with the point guard signaling the start of the fightback with a three-pointer from beyond the half-court line to end the first half that pulled the Warriors within 66-52 at the break. In the third quarter, he single-handedly outscored the Magic with 22 points to Orlando’s 21. The four-time NBA champion finished two three-pointers shy of former teammate Klay Thompson’s record for most
RSS