Traffic came to a halt in Half-Way Tree (HWT) Square yesterday morning as hundreds of motorists and pedestrians paused from their usual duties to watch their own Usain Bolt smashing records and grabbing gold in the men's 100 metres finals at the 29th Olympiad in Beijing, China.

A television screen was erected at the bus stop at Mandela Park in HWT, across from the Jamaica National building and the transportation centre.

Vendors, commuters, pedestrians and the patrons waiting outside the building all stopped what they were doing to view the 'big race'.

Several men took seats in the middle of the road, but the police were too busy to notice because their eyes were stuck to the television screen.

Even minutes before the start of the race at 9:30 a.m. (Jamaican time), people were still placing bets on their favourite athletes, Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell.

Anticipating the outcome of the race, many spectators were heard whispering a few words of prayer.

Others spoke words of admiration and hope, wishing the best for the athletes.

Cheers, screams and shouts erupted from the audience when countrymen Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell and Michael Frater appeared on the television screen.

When Bolt crossed the finished line, a thunderous uproar came from the crowd.

Yet, the atmosphere was filled with mixed emotions, many celebrating the victory of Bolt, and others expressing their disappointment with Powell.

- Michelle-Ann Letman

AP
Jamaicans celebrate fellow Jamaican Usain Bolt's gold-medal-winning victory in the 100m at the Beijing Olympics, at a bar in Kingston, Jamaica, yesterday. Bolt broke his own world record, coming in at 9.69 seconds.

'Bolt! Bolt! A him a di man! All wen di man stop, dem caan catch di man!'

... shouted a male patron at Cuddyz Sports Bar and Restaurant in New Kingston yesterday.

He was one of several patrons who had come to the New Kingston bar to watch the historic Beijing Olympic 100m final in which three Jamaicans - Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell and Michael Frater - competed. Bolt claimed gold in a record-breaking 9.69 seconds, while Powell and Frater were fifth and sixth, respectively.

Following Bolt's victory, he introduced the world to the newest dancehall move 'Nuh Linga', which added to the pandemonium at the venue.

"Bolt a my guy," said Rosalee Edwards from Hope Road who was decked out yellow.

"Mi all lef mi house fi come here to watch, cause a more excitement," she said.

The popular sports spot opened its doors at 8 a.m., three hours earlier than usual. Patrons gathered outside from as early as 7:30 a.m.

Flags from around the world decorated the bar, while several mounted big-screen television sets had been placed throughout the venue. The atmosphere inside the venue was rather tense with anticipation as persons were seen occasionally glancing at their watches then back to television sets before the match-up. And, following the race, it was a mixed bag: cheers, sounds of laughter, sighs of regret and disbelief.

Other patrons tried to capture a piece of Jamaica's history by taking pictures of the television replays.

A calm Winston Davis of Havendale was confident that Bolt would have won.

"Mi a bring Bolt still, but mi woulda want Asafa fi win, cause yuh know Bolt younger still," said the 42-year-old.

Gary Brown, a Powell supporter who lived close by, stood alone, glaring at the TV in disbelief.

"Asafa, mi seh. A travel to watch him all over," said the 30-year-old.

When asked as to why he was not in China to support his sprinter, he said: "Because I'm working."

- Tanola Jackson

Policemen paused in Half-Way Tree, St Andrew, to watch sprinter Usain Bolt win gold in the 100 metres race on a giant TV screen erected near Mandela Park.

Gareth Manning, Sunday Gleaner Writer

At 9:10 a.m. at the Mobile Reserve unit of the Jamaica Constabulary Force in southeast St Andrew yesterday, there was only one thing on the minds of policemen on the massive compound.

"Not even crime a gwaan today! Everything is on standstill," a policeman remarked as he sat in front of a 15-inch television set with his gun in his lap. "All gunman in front of a TV," a colleague chimed in.

The opinions about who would pocket the gold medal grew as it came down to crunch time.Buzz of opinions,/b>

"Asafa a go false start; him nah go gwaan wid nutten," another policeman says jokingly. "You nuh see how Bolt a jog in a 9.92 seconds," he adds.

By 9:25 a.m., the policemen gathered on the outside of the room begin to file in. The buzz of opinions grows louder. The television feed begins to trip out.

"Mi neva tell you seh the American them a go try sabotage the thing!" shouts an officer jokingly. The American Tyson Gay, the world's third-fastest man, and one of the favourites to win the gold, had failed to make it to the finals after finishing fifth in his semi-final.

9:27. They're off!

"He is fast, but never deliver on the occasion. The lightning [Bolt] going twist him up!" declares Senior Superintendent Donald Pusey. "This is the big occasion!"

"9.69!" the policemen exclaims as world record holder Usain Bolt cruises past the finish line to become the first Jamaican man to win gold over 100 metres at the Olympics. Any object within grasp immediately becomes a beating post as the men celebrate that Jamaica has taken the gold home.

"Mi win mi $5,000!" one policeman shouted as he dialled a number on his cellphone.

"He was bred to race ... ls Trelawny yam man!" declares Pusey. "It takes nerves and Asafa doesn't have it," he added.

Jarmila Jackson, Sunday Gleaner Writer

THE SOUND of the gun at the start of the men's Olympic 100 metres brought crowds running from every angle, abandoning stalls, carts and pieces of cardboard, vendors and customers alike erupted into a frenzy, storming the street to gather around a small television screen propped up in a tiny stall on the approach of the Coronation Market, downtown Kingston yesterday morning.

"The taxi man haffi go wait," shouted one woman as she pushed through the crowd towards the screen, as the man she obstructed slammed on his car horn before deserting his car to join the spectacle.

Children left marble games

Children sucking bag juices left their marble game to burrow through to the front of the crowd, as one couple embraced while standing on an empty handcart and Vivian Andrews, the owner of the stall, sneaked inside to have a private viewing from a much smaller portable screen.

"Bolt! Bolt!" shouted another woman, with tears in her eyes and decked from head to toe in the colours of the flag, applauding and beckoning to the screen as if he could hear her. "Powell! Powell!" challenged the man beside her, who grew silent as the race drew to an end. "Da race ya bigger than Asafa!" she shouted in his ear, above the roar of the others.

Dancehall music blared

As Usain Bolt sped past the finish line, dancehall music blared from speakers hidden by the dense crowd, the feeble plyboard structure rocking as many beat their palms on its sides in excitement. Others waved shirts and hands in the air, scampering off into different directions, shouting to those who had missed it that our champion had won.

"Lift that high inna the air, mek them see Jamaica, 9.69!" shouted Andrews, while sipping his beer, as Bolt raised the nation's flag on his victory lap. "All now Bolt nuh start run," he said with a wide grin, "A the champion that - Usain Bolt."

Television screens continued to spring to life on every corner as the crowd dispersed into smaller groups to discuss the race while watching replays of the moment Jamaica's 'lightning' Bolt shattered his own world record. They are still talking about the victory.

BEIJING:

"UNBELIEVABLE", "PHENOMENAL" and "amazing" were just a few of the words journalists used to describe Usain Bolt's stunning run at the Olympic Games yesterday. On the second day of athletics at the Games of the 29th Olympiad, Bolt, nicknamed 'Lightning', lit up Bird's Nest stadium in the Chinese capital to take the 100m gold in a breathtaking 9.69 seconds, a world record.

The mark, which beat his previous best of 9.72 seconds, left many, including several journalists, speechless.

Seemed to stop

"Unbelievable," was how John Rasmussen of Norway described the run. "I think he could have gone 9.5-something, because he seemed to stop," added Rasmussen.

Kenneth Dlamini of Swaziland said: "I think it was just phenomenal. I never took him seriously until recently, and I think if he had never slowed down, he would have smashed that record by more."

"It was amazing!" said Dora Mittelhocz of Hungary.Patrick Graham, an American journalist said: "Unsparing!"

Exploded

"When he reached the 30-metre mark, he took off, like he had a rocket on his back. It was unbelievable watching him explode against a field like that and then to shut it down," Graham said.

"It's one of the biggest things I have ever seen in my life as a journalist," said Brazilian Luiz Roberto Magalhaes, a 10-year veteran in sport journalism.

"I am very happy for Bolt and the people of Jamaica. In Brazil we like Jamaica a lot," Magalhaes said.