(David Wegener) Day Six (August 20): Lightning Strikes Twice in the Same Place
Women's 400-meter Hurdles: Won by the favorite Melaine Walker (Jamaica). The USA was expected to go 2-3 behind Walker, but got only the silver medal.
Women's Hammer Throw: Won by Aksana Miankova (Belarus), setting a new Olympic record of 76.34 meters and beating the favorite, Yipsi Moreno (Cuba).
Men's Pole Vault qualifying: Several stars, who have vaulted over six meters, did not qualify for the finals. Unfortunately, the best in the world for the last two years, Brad Walker (USA), was one of them, as was the snake handler, Jeff Hartwig. Tough break for them and the American team.
Men's 200 meters: Well, what can I say. Enough has been said about Usain Bolt not only winning the gold but breaking Michael Johnson's record that was once considered unbreakable. To give a little perspective...
, Johnson's record of 19.32, set in the Atlanta Olympics (1996), was named by track cognscenti the best track and field performance of the 20th century. That's how strong a record Bolt beat.
Churandy Martina (Neterlands Antilles) and Wallace Spearmon (USA) were disqualified for running out of their lanes so the silver and bronze medals went to Shawn Crawford and Walter Dix, both of the USA.
Said Crawford of Bolt's performance: "Usain Bolt is the fastest man I've ever seen in my life. The 19.30 to me wasn't strange. I've watched Usain perform all year. He's been putting up phenomenal times. I watched him do the rounds of the 100m. He set a record in that at 9.69. I figured he had a chance to break the record here. I just didn't know if he would have it in his legs still after eight rounds. That was expected. I knew it was going to be a fast race. Usain is a phenomenal athlete."
"He's made history. He's broken a 12-year-old record held by Michael Johnson and the same time he crushed the 100-meter record. He put on a show tonight. To me, it's just like Michael Phelps in swimming. He raised the bar for us."
