The meet took place at Randalls Island on Saturday night, but it was a home crowd for Jamaica’s newest sprint star at 100 metres, Usain Bolt.

And the 6,490 fans were greeted with a stunning performance as Bolt set a world record in 9.72 seconds, competing in the event for only the fifth time in a professional race. His mark eclipsed the previous record of 9.74, set last September by his countryman Asafa Powell, and left Tyson Gay of the United States, the 2007 world champion, more than a yard behind in 9.85.

The Jamaican crowd got a double dose of victory as Veronica Campbell-Brown, the reigning world champion, also won her race, in 10.91 seconds, the fastest women’s 100 m in the world this year.

A majority of fans at Icahn Stadium seemed to be dressed in green and gold. Some waved the Jamaican national flag. The Jamaican national anthem was sung during a rain delay, and reggae music blared on the public address system. Miss Jamaica even interviewed sprinters while wearing her sash.

The crowd’s enthusiasm was not dampened by a rain delay, even as the men’s 100 was run nearly two hours after it had been scheduled because of weather concerns. Bolt, who is tall for a sprinter at 6 feet 5 inches, had an imperfect start in the first attempt to run the race, but received a reprieve after another sprinter false-started.

Changed strategy

Given his height, the 21-year-old Bolt has not been a technically precise, ballistic starter. Where shorter runners seem to explode out of the blocks, he seems to unfold. At least until Saturday, his strategy for the 100 metres had been to try to remain close over the first 30 metres, then draw away with his long stride.

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