Usain Bolt of Jamaica, who dashed 9.69 seconds for the Olympic men's 100m title and broke the world record on Saturday night, said that he just aimed to win before the final.
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"I did not know that I broke the world record until the end. I came here to prove that I am the best in the world, and I just did that," said Bolt who sliced three hundredths of a second from the previous world record.
"I am not worrying about the world record. I just aim to win, not the world record." said Bolt after the match.
"I was not here to run fast. My aim is to be the champion. I have trained for years for this and prepared for this, and I am happy I just did that," he said.
The 21-year-old Bolt didn't even exert all his strength in his final strides, while slamming his chest with right palm before reaching the finish line.
As Asafa Powell, another favourite who finished fifth in the finals in 9.95 seconds said:" He could have run faster if he run straight through the lines."
"I don't really know what happened. I even could be 9.60." Bolt said to reporters after the race.
Asked about whether he put on a show as he appeared quite relaxed on his final strides, Bolt said:"It was not planned. As soon as I came to see that I have covered the field and I knew I would win, I was very happy and start to celebrate."
"Nobody tries not to win, I went out there to compete."he said.
Winning the first Olympic gold for Jamaica in the 100 meters race, Bolt said the gold medal means a lot to his country, as well as to him, at the press conference held after the match.
"I had made the country proud and that they are looking forward to my coming home. I am looking forward to going home also." he said.
"I have to give a lot of credit to my coach. We have been working a lot on my start, and that's where my weakness has been, so I just wanted to execute it. "
As the new champion was chawing candies throughout the press conference, Bolt said he was a person who liked having fun. "I was just having fun, having fun is just me. I just stay relaxed before the race."
"I never have breakfast. I just got up at 11, and watched some TV, and had some nuggets. I went back to my room, and slept for three more hours. Then I had some more nuggets and went out to the track.
"I think it's definitely impressive. To break a world record is every sprinter's dream. But to say it's not going to be broken is not something I am going to say." said the silver medalist Dix Walter of the United States.
(Xinhua News Agency August 17, 2008)