- Usain Bolt retains his Olympic 200m in a time of 19.32, making him the first man to win that event and the 100m race at two Olympics.
- Jamaican superstar came in fractionally behind his own world record as countrymen Yohan Blake gained silver and Warren Weir came third.
- Silenced doubters with a finger on his lips as he crossed the line before falling to the floor to do press-ups in an incredible display of strength.
- Bolt then grabs camera off Aftonbladet photographer Jimmy Wixtr to take celebratory pics of his team mates.
Usain Bolt showed why he's sports finest showman as well as the world's greatest ever athlete by capturing his own Kodak moments with a borrowed press photographer's camera shorty after sprinting to victory in tonight's 200m final.
After he crossed the finishing line first ahead of compatriots Yohan Blake and Warren Weir, the 25-year-old Jamaican celebrated by dancing and skipping around the Olympic Stadium, as the 80,000-strong crowd rewarded him with a standing ovation.
Victorious, Bolt dropped to the track and performed press-ups, before borrowing a photographer camera to take souvenir snapshots of the occasion.
Bolt approached photographer Jimmy Wixtr, who was covering the historic 200m final at the Olympics for Swedish paper Aftonbladet, who offered his camera to the athlete to take some of his own photos of the momentous occasion.
Mr Wixtr said: 'I had been asking him for several days if we could take a picture before the race. Yesterday, he promised me that we could take a picture of him afterwards.
'I wore the same hat I had been wearing all week so he would recognize me and called him over after he finished the race and asked him to take some photos.
'As a photographer, he is pretty good. He is charming and took several pictures of Blake while he joked.'
He added that Bolt has used his camera twice before - in Daegu and in Rome, when Bolt took pictures of himself during a workout.
Mr Wixtr admitted that Bolt has referred to him as his stalker, adding: 'He said it yesterday, but it was with a wink and a smile. He is never angry and I am quite calm and collected.'
After his quick session as a photographer, Bolt then went on to reward his fans with his famous lightning bolt pose.
Bolt's victory makes him the first man to have won both the 100m and 200m at two successive Olympics.
And he did it in emphatic style, powering home in 19.32 seconds, just a fraction outside the Olympic record of 19.30.
Yohan Blake and Warren Weir made it a Jamaican one-two-three. American Wallace Spearmon came fourth.
Bolt was pushed all the way by Blake, his friend and training partner, who was tipped by many to outshine his mentor in London.
But Bolt got off to a blistering start and powered into a lead around the bend.
In the final 100m it looked as if Blake was closing him down, but Bolt found and extra push and cruised over the line.
American 400m world record holder Michael Johnson said: 'Blake found after the start that Bolt was already gone. He displayed some speed endurance that I haven't seen before. He looked at the clock, realised that he was not on world record pace and decided to celebrate a little bit early!'
Blake said: 'Usain Bolt has been motivating me all season. Everything has been going good so far.'
Third-placed Weir added: "It's a great honour to come here and do what the country wanted, to get the top three.
'The love in London is very, very good.'
Bolt broke both 100m and 200m world records in Beijing.
He failed to better his record of 9.58 seconds in the 100m final, but predicted a fast time tonight.
After cruising to victory in last night's semi-final he said: 'There's a possibility (of a record), definitely.
'I can't say (for sure), but the track is fast. It's going to be a good race.'
Both Bolt and Blake qualified comfortably from yesterday's semi-finals.
Blake registered the fastest time from the two heats. Bolt had to settle for fifth after slowing down to a canter as he crossed the line, light years ahead of the rest of the field.
The two men are fierce rivals on the track. Off the track, they're friends and even training partners - Bolt acting as a mentor to the 20-year-old.
He's even given Blake a nickname: 'The beast.'
Bolt celebrated by kissing the track, hugging spectators, dropping and performing a set of press-ups and striking his lightning pose, before embracing compatriots Blake and Weir - who secured silver and bronze.
He then told the BBC: "This is what I wanted and I got it. I'm very proud of myself. I had a rough season, I came out here and I did what I had to do.
'We've been working hard all season. We pushed ourselves, we pushed each other and we're happy."
Asked if he could have had a world record, Bolt added: "I think it was possible...but I guess I wasn't fit enough. I was fast but I wasn't fit enough.
'I came off the corner, I could feel the strain on my back a little bit so I was trying to keep my form, but I stopped running because I knew it wasn't going to be a world record. When I came off the corner I could feel it.
'It was hard. I really dedicated [myself] to my work, I know what London meant to me. I came here and I gave it my all and I'm proud of myself.
'I didn't get a world record - I really wanted to do it in the 200m - but I'm happy.'
Blake said: 'Usain Bolt has been motivating me all season. Everything has been going good so far."
Third-placed Weir added: "It's a great honour to come here and do what the country wanted, to get the top three.
'The love in London is very, very good.'
The green, yellow and black flags of Jamaica were held aloft around the Olympic Stadium.
Marcia Henry, a teaching mentor from Willesden Green, London, whose parents are from Jamaica, said: 'I feel proud for London and Jamaica.
'It was a fantastic race. Bolt is a fantastic athlete and fantastic showman.
'I've got no words to describe this, really. I'm just over the moon to have been here to witness him making history. It was absolutely amazing.'
Fellow Jamaica fan Catherine Gardner, an early years practitioner from Islington, said: 'I think it's such a significant race because of the history of it, the (black power) protest in Mexico, Jesse Owens ran in the 200m too.
'Jamaica is such a small place in the world and the role of these sprinters so important. It was Jamaica, 1,2,3, so Jamaica rules.'
After receiving his gold medal, Bolt again delighted thousands of fans and received a second standing ovation by giving his trademark pose on top of the podium.
Seemingly confirming the newspaper headlines that will appear around the world tomorrow, Bolt said:
'It’s what I came here to do. I’m now a legend. I’m also the greatest athlete to live.'
Bolt broke both 100m and 200m world records in Beijing.
He failed to better his record of 9.58 seconds in the 100m final, but predicted a fast time tonight.
After cruising to victory in last night's semi-final he said: 'There's a possibility (of a record), definitely.
'I can't say (for sure), but the track is fast. It's going to be a good race.'
Both Bolt and Blake qualified comfortably from yesterday's semi-finals.
Blake registered the fastest time from the two heats. Bolt had to settle for fifth after slowing down to a canter as he crossed the line, light years ahead of the rest of the field.
The two men are fierce rivals on the track. Off the track, they're friends and even training partners - Bolt acting as a mentor to the 20-year-old.
He's even given Blake a nickname: 'The beast.'
The mentor/protege relationship was shaken when Blake pipped Bolt to first place in the Jamaican trials.
But Bolt returned to form in time for the 100m final in London, soundly beating his compatriot, who was forced to settle for a silver medal.
Blake speaks fondly of his friendship with Bolt, but insisted they both left their relationship in the locker room when they stepped out into the stadium tonight.
He said: 'When I train I train like a beast. That's why Usain gave me the name. Off the track it's different. He is a calm guy. We are always friends.
'We always have fun, joke around. On the day it's all business, each man for himself. Win or lose we are going to be friends. I try not to build up a rivalry because at the end of the day it's just a race. If you focus on a rivalry you might not get the work done.'
By IAN GARLAND and SUZANNAH HILLS
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