Sprint champion runs into headwind but still manages 19.56 seconds
Kingston : Triple Olympic and world champion Usain Bolt ran the fourth-fastest 200 metres of all time with a blistering 19.56 second sprint in front of his home fans at the Jamaica International Invitational on Saturday.
Only Bolt (twice) and former world record holder Michael Johnson have ever clocked faster times.
"I felt good, the race was a good one and I am on target to have a good season," Bolt told reporters after his first individual race of the season.
"My training has been going well and I am pleased with my performance," he added.
The Jamaican's world record stands at 19.19 seconds, which he set at last year's world championships in Berlin, and his latest effort was all the more impressive as it was run into a headwind of 0.8 metres per second.
Running from lane five, he quickly left the field behind and ran through to the finish without easing up. Bolt's next race is his first 100 metres of the season in Daegu, South Korea on May 19.
American world bronze medallist Wallace Spearmon also dipped under 20 seconds, running 19.98 seconds to finish a distant second.
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