Three years ago Bolt set the 100m world record after running 9.58 secs at the World Championships.

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Bolt set five world records on his way to winning the 100m, 200m and 4x100m in Berlin and in Beijing before that.

BBC: Bolt keen to compete in long jump

Bolt set a new Olympic record with his 9.63 seconds run on Sunday, just as he did when he claimed his first title four years ago in Beijing.

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Bolt has set the World Championships alight with his displays in the Olympic Stadium, which have seen him become the first man to hold the 100 and 200m World and Olympic titles at the same time.

BBC: Bolt switches focus to relay gold

Then came the lightning bolt of inspiration that set his life on a course of optimism and astonishing productivity for the next 22 years.

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Gay's rivalry with Bolt over the 100m and 200m looks set to continue in the Diamond league next summer - the new-look Golden League which will cover Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the United States.

BBC: Gay set to be fit for new season

Jamaica, led by triple gold medal winner Bolt, dominated the sprint events at the 2008 Olympics and look set for a repeat in the world championships in Berlin next month.

CNN: Athletics: Bolt eases to 100m win in London

But the current men's world record has since improved to 9.58 (Usain Bolt), while the women's record is still the 10.49 set by Florence Griffith-Joyner in 1988.

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