In a soccer-crazy country it is not often one sees scores of youngsters drooling over an athletics star. But August 16 was no ordinary Sunday, and the hub of Berlin-based football club Hertha Berlin was swinging to Jamaican rhythms, enjoying being part of a history Usain Bolt keeps rewriting.

His 9.58 in the men’s 100m at the World Championships came exactly a year after Bolt slowed down to celebrate his Olympic gold medal, a day before, former world champion Frankie Fredericks of Namibia had tipped Canadian Donovan Bailey as the greatest 100m runner for his ability to win even after trailing.

After watching Usain Bolt, his face said it all. “I have not seen anything like this, I am speechless,” said Friedricks.

Bolt’s coach Glen Mills, on the other hand, had a know-it-all smile. “It’s no surprise to me. I very well knew what was coming tonight. Although I would not like to put a number on what Usain can achieve but he certainly can do better,” said Mills, who took charge of Bolt after the Athens Olympics and believes his ward is still two years away from peak. Which leaves one wondering what the charismatic sprinter will be up to at the 2012 London Olympics.

Bolt’s performance is worth 1374 points according to the IAAF scoring tables, with the maximum point an athlete can achieve being 1400. In sprints, that will be equivalent to 19.08s in 200 m, 12.39 in the 110 m hurdles or 42.09 in 400 m.

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