Bolt Takes Sixth Olympic Gold After Mo Farah Completes Double On Amazing Last Athletics Night

There was an immense sense of expectation surrounding the Olympic Stadium as the 80,000 strong crowd waited for the last night of athletics. The majority of the crowd were there to watch Brit Mo Farah's attempt to break records and win the 5,000 metres exactly a week after his 10,000 triumph. There were the small matters of the men's 4x100 metres and women's 4x400 metres relays to follow but the attention was firmly on Farah and company as the men's 5,000 metres final kicked off the evening. 

After Super Saturday's dramatic win in his more favoured event Farah was hoping that he could replicate that and complete the double with 5,000 metres gold. He had plenty of competition on the starting line in the shape of Dejen Gebremeskel and Yenew Alamirew of Ethiopia, the two fastest qualifiers, and Kenyan Isiah Kiplangat Koech and Hayle Ibrahimov of Azerbaijan who both finished ahead of the Brit in their heat. Add in Farah's American training partner Galen Rupp and this was always going to be a great race.

A deafening roar was let out as the Somalian-born runner was introduced to the crowd and a similar rumble was felt after the starter's gun. Farah kept himself in contention with considerable ease as it became clear that the race was going to be slow and won by the best sprint finish. The 29-year-old gradually moved his way into second place and he made his move with just over 600 metres to go as he pushed away from the Ethiopians to take a narrow lead. As the athletes took the bell it appeared as though Farah was being reeled in and by the time they had completed the back straight he had five runners less than a few metres behind. But his opponents should know by now never to rule him out and the crowd appeared to lift him as he kicked on around the bend. Down the home straight he stretched his lead and sprinted away to win in 13:41.66  ahead of Ethiopia's Dejen Gebremeskel (13:41.98) in silver and Kenya's Thomas Pkemei Longosiwa (13:42.36) in bronze.

Farah became the first Briton to win a long-distance track event at the Olympics a week ago and this latest  achievement makes him the first man to ever win the Olympic 5,000 metre title on home soil as well as just the seventh man to win both the 10,000 and 5,000 metres in the same Games. He joined an illustrious list that includes Ethiopians Kenenisa Bekele and Miruts Yifter, Finns Lasse Virens and Hannes Kolehmainen, Vladimir Kuts of the USSR and Czech Emil Zapotek.

There was more to come in the Olympic Stadium as the Jamaicans set the second 4x100 metre relay world record of the Games. The quartet of Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake, Nesta Carter and Michael Frater went into the final as favourites and the overcame their American rivals to win in a ground-breaking time of 36.85 seconds. A USA team including Tyson Gay and Justin Gatlin kept up with the team in the lane next to them for the majority of the race but the now six-time Olympic champion Usain Bolt ran away from Ryan Bailey to ensure his third gold medal of these Olympics. Bolt is now just four behind Carl Lewis' record of ten Olympic golds and is the first man to win six sprinting titles over two Olympics. Young apprentice Yohan Blake collected his first gold and he hopes that there will be many more in four years time.

In the women's 4x400 metre relay the Americans cruised to their second relay gold with Allyson Felix claiming her third of these Olympics. The Brits could not live with the pace and Christine Ohuruogu was left with too much to do on the final lap as they finished outside of the medals. In the women's 800 metre final Russian Mariya Savinova won in 1:56.19 as favourite Caster Semenya left it too late to mount a challenge and took silver. 

Rudisha And Bolt Take Centre Stage As Records Drop Like Flies

There was a great sense of expectation surrounding the Olympic Stadium as many people were hoping to see unforgettable performances on the track. The majority of the hype surrounded the latest instalment of Bolt v Blake but there was a man with other ideas. The Kenyan world record holder and defending 800 metres world champion David Rudisha was probably the biggest favourite of any event in this Olympics' athletics competition. 

His coach Colm O'Connell said that: "There are three things on a global level that you can achieve in athletics, he has two of them. There is one missing. Winning the Olympics, he knows, will give him immortality." The 23-year-old has had an amazing rise from Maasai warrior to world record holder and it was O'Connell who plucked him out of obscurity over eight years ago. He ran 1.49.6 in his first ever 800 metres in Kenya in horrendous conditions. Lord Sebastian Coe, the former world-record holder, said before tonight's final that he thinks Rudisha is the only man that could possibly one day run under 1 minute 40. His record stood at 1.41.01 going into tonight's final and he was hoping to beat that.

He went fast from the start and ran the first 200 metres in just 23 seconds and as he completed the opening lap in under 50 seconds it became clear that no one would beat him. From then on it was just Rudisha against the clock and he didn't run out of steam as he stormed through to win in 1.40.91 to beat his own record by one-tenth of a second. His amazing time brought the other athletes through in fast times as all the runners ran either personal or season's bests. Botswana's 17-year-old Nijel Amos broke the world junior record to take silver in 1.41.73 while 18-year-old Timothy Kitum of Kenya took bronze. 

Rudisha was delighted with his ground-breaking run: "Well I'm very happy, this is the moment that I've been waiting for for a very long time. I was well prepared and I had no doubt of winning and I'm in good shape and knew that I could run 1 minute 40. Today the weather was just beautiful so I just went for it."

Great Britain's Andrew Osagie finished over two and a half seconds behind in eighth place but still ran a personal best of 1.43.77 and he was in shock at the speed of Rudisha: "Usually that sort of time would take medals in major events. Many people thought that David would try and break the world record but I didn't think that he'd actually do it. I have run a season's best and personal best but I came last! So mixed emotions at the moment."

However there was much more to come in the form of the 200 metres and the Bolt and Blake show-down. The 100 metres champion Usain Bolt held the world record thanks to a 19.19 run in Berlin three years ago but compatriot Yohan Blake had come close to that with an effort of 19.26. After sealing a one-two in the shortest distance the Jamaicans were hoping for a clean sweep this time around. Bolt flew out of the blocks and Blake was immediately behind as his team-mate got away from him around the bend. 'The Beast' fought back and with about 20 metres to go it looked like he might overhaul the great sprinter but the now five-time Olympic champion streaked away to win in 19.32 seconds. Blake finished in 19.44 as youngster Warren Weir completed his country's clean sweep as he took bronze in 19.84. 

Bolt is now the first athlete to win five Olympic gold medals before turning 26 and is also the first man to successfully defend the Olympic 200 metres title. He now has four individual sprint golds which takes him past Carl Lewis as the greatest Olympic sprinter ever. 

Insane Usain Thrashes Olympic Record On Balmy Night

Four years ago Usain Bolt became the first ever man to run the 100 metres in a time of under 9.7 seconds, despite appearing to ease up as he approached the line. Many people said that that his time of 9.69 could stand for many years but Bolt flew out of the blocks like lightning in Berlin the following year, smashing his own record by 0.11 seconds. That was a time that appeared completely unbeatable and no one had come particularly close going into tonight's Olympic final. However this was the first time the four fastest men in history had raced against each other and this was always going to be a great race. 

This year there were doubts surrounding the Jamaican legend after he was beaten in his country's Olympic trials by training partner Yohan Blake; a man who also won the 2011 World Championship after Bolt was disqualified for false-starting. Other contenders included former world record holders Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay, while 2004 champion in Athens Justin Gatlin went into the race as the fastest qualifier after winning his semi-final in 9.82 seconds. 

Bolt was sluggish out of the blocks but quickly caught up with country-man Blake and Gatlin while Powell and Gay immediately struggled behind. Just when it looked like the three-time Olympic champion might lose his title he powered away from the field to win in a new Olympic record time of 9.63 seconds. The records continued to be broken as the other finalists crossed the line. Four men ran under 9.81 seconds and seven men ran sub-ten second times as the record books continued to be re-written in unprecedented fashion. Bolt's apprentice Blake took silver as Gatlin just dipped ahead of team-mate Gay to take bronze. 

With the 50th anniversary of Jamaican independence tomorrow a one-two was a fitting way to celebrate. The champion will go into the 200 metres hoping to become the first man to win four gold medals in 100 and 200 metre sprinting while tonight's win made him only the second man after Carl Lewis to win two 100 metre Olympic titles. In the 200 metres he will probably face an even tougher challenge from tonight's silver medallist.

Bolt acknowledged that this was his best ever win when he said: "I was happy when I went out in the first round, I felt like, I could do this. I think I sat in  the blocks a little bit but the key was that I didn't worry about the start. My coach said to remember that the strongest part of my race is the end and that worked." He also recognized Blake's efforts: "I have to pay tribute to Blake because he always pushes me in training and he'll do even better next time."

All Eyes Focused On Sunday's Blockbuster 100m Final

After the drama of Super Saturday heads now turn to a hyped men's 100 metres final that could go a number of different directions. Iconic Jamaican Usain Bolt will defend his title and world record but for the first time in a long time going into a major championship final there is a feeling that he can be beaten. His old rivals American Tyson Gay and fellow Jamaican Asafa Powell will be there with him hoping to finally get one over him in a major final. Neither Gay or Powell have beaten Bolt in a major final since 2007 when the American won the sprint double at the world championships.

Since then Bolt has dominated sprinting like no man ever before, winning three golds in Bejing and another three in 2009 in Berlin. In those world championships he broke both of the world records that he had set the previous year. Both of these still stand with his 100 metres record at 9.58 seconds and his 200 metres time at 19.19. However in the last year there have been signs that the 25-year-old's power is waning and he lost his world 100 metres title when he was disqualified for false-starting in Daegu. In that final his training partner and team-mate Yohan Blake won in a time of 9.92 seconds. That time would not usually be able to beat the three-time Olympic champion but since then Blake has gradually improved and he beat Bolt at the Jamaican trials in a new personal best of 9.75 seconds. He also defeated Bolt in the 200 metres and has come very close to the world record that many felt would never be beaten by running times of 19.40 and 19.26 this year.

While Blake will feel quietly confident of out-running his team-mate there are other men that will be holding high hopes of taking gold. It is clear that Bolt will be a deserving favourite with Blake close behind but the other sprinter from the small Carribean island, Asafa Powell, has held the world record before and was third at the Jamaican trials. His personal best is an impressive 9.72 seconds and regularly runs under 9.9 seconds but has struggled to perform to his best on the big stage. Despite suffering from pre-race anxiety he does have an Olympic gold to his name in the 100 metre relay and has won four world championship medals. His form this year has been solid if not spectacular and he could put previous Olympic disappointments behind him. 

Despite the majority of focus being on the Jamaican contingent sprinting has been traditionally dominated by the USA. They have lost their stranglehold on the show-piece athletics event somewhat over the last five years but both Gay and 2004 Olympic 100 metre champion Justin Gatlin have had good seasons and could push for a win tonight. The 2007 world champion Gay holds the American record and became the only man other than Bolt to have run under 9.7 seconds when he won in Shanghai in 2009 in 9.69 seconds. He has not been on his best form this year despite looking ominous at times but should not be ruled out as he could win with a good start and something to hold on to.

Olympic champion in Athens, Justin Gatlin, has come roaring back into athletics after serving a four-year ban for testing positive for a banned substance. After returning two years ago he has run under ten seconds regularly, winning the US Olympic trials in 9.80 seconds, the record for a man over 30. He has already beaten country-man Gay as well as Powell this year and has run sub-ten seconds three times this season. He will go into tonight's final as one of the favourites as he looks to win a fourth Olympic medal.