In relay, Bolt adds a gold, not a record

Since the Beijing Olympics, Bolt had won five major gold medals with a world record each time. But after his latest two in Berlin, the Jamaican star and his teammates fell short.

With former world record-holder Asafa Powell taking the baton from Bolt for the anchor leg, Jamaica won in 37.31 seconds, a championships record but slower than the world record of 37.10 they set in Beijing last year.

Trinidad and Tobago took silver and Britain got bronze.

The absence of the record left the ebullient Bolt subdued. Instead of his antics, Bolt sat down on the track and stretched. He untied his shoes and hugged Powell.

Still, the 100 and 200 world record-holder was perfect when it came to his three golds, much as Jesse Owens was 73 years ago when he went 4 for 4 at the same stadium during the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

And yesterday it was another American who took gold in the long jump.

During a final laden with symbolism, Dwight Phillips jumped 28 feet, 1/4 inch on his second attempt to win. His main rival, Olympic champion Irving Saladino of Panama, was eliminated with scratches in his first three tries.

Phillips got the gold medal from Owens’s granddaughter, Marlene Hemphill Dortch, smiling and hugging her.

Owens won four gold medals in 1936, and as a black athlete became a symbol of racial equality in sports during the days when Adolf Hitler promoted Aryan supremacy.

Despite the long jump victory, it was a bittersweet day for the American team. The US failed to make the women’s 400 relay final, with Muna Lee falling injured after a handoff in the heats.

The injury compounded the US relay problems one day after the men’s team was disqualified from its heat for handing over the baton outside the designated zone.

Jamaica ran to victory in 42.06 seconds, beating the Bahamas for silver and Germany for bronze.

Abel Kirui and Emmanuel Mutai made sure Kenya is keeping an edge over Ethiopia, finishing 1-2 in the men’s marathon.

The African rivalry swung Kenya’s way for good under the Brandenburg Gate when the two Kenyans ran Tsegay Kebede of Ethiopia into submission in the fastest marathon in World Championship history, 2:06:54.

Kenya rubbed it in at the Olympic Stadium later when Vivian Cheruiyot led Kenya to a 1-2 finish in the women’s 5,000 and reduced Ethiopian favorite Meseret Defar to bronze.

In the women’s hammer throw, Anita Wlodarczyk of Poland set a world record of 255-9 on her second attempt and ended up with the gold medal.