He did not slow down, or stretch his arms or slap his chest, this time. But he still won the 200m sprint in world record time, giving himself the best present on the eve of his 22nd birthday.

Maybe he did not want to take a chance till he crossed the 200m finish line yesterday. After all, it was the great Michael Johnson whose world record he was after, unlike the 100m in which he broke his own on Saturday.

Usain Bolt of Jamaica celebrates after winning the men's 200m final of the athletics competition in the National Stadium at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 20, 2008. Bolt set a new world record with a timing of 19.30 seconds. [Agencies]

The capacity 90,000 crowd at the Bird's Nest knew about his birthday and sang Happy Birthday to Bolt as he ran a lap of honor.

So what do the spoils add up after the end of the historic dash? Usain Bolt becomes the first athlete to set world records in the 100m and 200m sprints at the Olympics. He is the first man to win the golden double after Carl Lewis in Los Angeles 1984. The great Jesse Owens has done that too, but even he couldn't break both the records.

Usain Bolt of Jamaica celebrates winning the men's 200m final of the athletics competition in the National Stadium at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 20, 2008. Bolt set a new world record with a timing of 19.30 seconds. [Agencies]

Johnson had been prophetic when he said after the 100m dash that Bolt might one day shatter his world 200m record of 19.32 seconds, set in Atlanta 1996. It took the Jamaican just four days to make that prophecy come true.

"Nothing he does will shock me," Johnson had said. "He has been working on his start and the first part of the 100m proved he has worked on that. He's going to have to turn the corner a lot better (in 200m) and run the corner better." It was the most impressive athletics performance "I've ever seen in my life", Johnson had said about Bolt's 100m run.

Johnson, now a commentator for the BBC, pretended to be gutted as Bolt completed the 200m in 19.30 seconds yesterday. No words. But then he had made his feelings known on Saturday itself.

It was a day of another stunning performance. Though Natalie du Toit finished only 16th among 20 in the maiden women's 10km swimming marathon, she won the hearts of spectators and competitors alike. The South African swimmer's left leg is amputated from below the knee.