Motorists near the Half-Way Tree Transport Centre might have considered him a clown act but Mark Marshall, inspired by Usain Bolt, gets ready to show that two feet are better than four wheels. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer

EVERYTHING and everyone stood still; even the drizzle from above. Well, except for Mark Marshall whose mouth was doing a marathon.

"The only way my runner lose him race is if him have heart attack," said Marshall, who offered to wager $5,000 on Bolt.

But the scores of persons within earshot in Half-Way Tree Square were all sane. None would bet against a freakish phenom whose speed seems to have no limit.

The Sunday afternoon traffic slowed to a crawl and all eyes were on one of three big screens mounted in the vicinity of the transport centre.

In fact, even a police patrol that was there did not bother to clear the streets. Jamaicans, some coming from church, others just going about their business or vending, paused to see Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell.

One could hear a pin drop as the athletes were put on their marks. No sooner had the starter's gun gone off, the race was over.

Then came the shouts, screams and clanging of pot covers. Half-Way Tree was locked down as a Passa Passa-esque street party erupted. Lightning had struck the St Andrew capital.

"World record again!" one man exclaimed as Bolt's 9.58 flashed across the screen.

"Wha' yuh mean if a world record? Yuh nuh si him a run lef' car," another man responded.

Another man said Bolt was too awesome to be compared with anyone in sport, likening him instead to the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson.

Marshall, who said he left his house at 11 a.m. to watch the race in Half-Way Tree, was perhaps one of few persons not awe-struck by Bolt's thunder.

He's a legend

"We remember when Bolt clashed with Gay before and the whole world laughed at him, now it is revenge for everything," Marshall said, referring to Bolt's 200m second-place finish in Osaka, Japan, in 2007.

"Jamaicans laughed at him at that point in time, but he came back and continues to prove that he is the greatest ... he's a legend," Marshall said.

"Bolt is just mi idol ... . Di man could run faster, but him just easy," he added.

Digicel, a major sponsor of Bolt, said yesterday that it would be doing "something special" for the sprinter when he returns.

"We have a lot in store for Usain when he comes back," Paula Pinnock-McLeod, Digicel's sports sponsorship manager, said.

According to Pinnock-McLeod, on Saturday when she asked Bolt to put in a world-record performance, he responded, "Yes, boss."

"We always knew he was going to break the record but 9.58 is something we never expected. It was a legendary run and we are proud of him," she said.

daraine.luton@gleanerjm.com