2009 YEARENDER: Usain Bolt is closer to sports pantheon; Semenya's tragedy

Dec 31, 2009, 14:52 GMT

Hamburg - Usain Bolt successfully worked on his image as a sports legend with two more sprint world records in 2009.

The Jamaican superstar lowered the 100 metres mark to 9.58 seconds and the 200m record to 19.19 seconds in two of his three world championship gold medals in Berlin's Olympic stadium.

The awesome achievements in the arena where Jesse Owens famously won four Olympic golds in 1936 only further indicated that Bolt was making good progress in his bid for immortality which he started with triple gold/world record runs at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

'My aim is to become a legend. I am working on it. It is getting there. But two seasons isn't enough,' he said.

For athletics supremo Lamine Diack, Bolt 'is one of the best-known people on the planet ... He brings a lot of prestige to our sport.'

Long jump world record holder Mike Powell named him 'a freak-of- nature athlete' whose 'pure athleticism is unparalleled.' Former sprinter Ato Boldon said that 'we have to rethink everything we know about human performance.'

However, Bolt's times were confirmed as humanly possible by biomechanics experts. And IAAF doping experts have stated that there is no indication that the much-tested Bolt is rasing suspicion.

Bolt, who was naturally named World Athlete of the Year for the second straight time, will continue to test human barriers next year against American rival Tyson Gay and others.

Whether South African Caster Semenya will also be able to run in 2010 remains unclear, as the sex-test controversy around the women's 800m world champion cast a dark shadow over the sport.

The 18-year-old burst onto the scene in late July and won the world title three weeks later in Berlin in 1:55.45, more than eight seconds faster than her 2008 best.

But Semenya had no time to enjoy her moment of success as just hours before the final the IAAF, responding to media reports, said that it has requested gender verification tests, based on her male physique and the fast times she ran.

The announcement caused an outcry in South Africa, but it was later revealed that the nation's athletics body had conducted sex tests on her without her knowledge and that she ran in Berlin for the medal count against the team doctor's advise.

A final verdict is yet to be reached but the South African sports ministry has announced that Semenya will be allowed to keep her medal and prize money because she did nothing wrong and that the test results (she is allegedly intersex) will remain confidential.

'The implications of the scientific findings on Caster's health and life going forward will be analysed by Caster and she will make her own decision on her future. Whatever she decides, ours is to respect her decision,' the ministry said.

The other big shock in Berlin, but unlike the Semenya case of a mere sporting calibre, was Yelena Isinbayeva no-heighting in the women's pole vault final.

However, the Russian regrouped two weeks later with a 27th career world record of 5.06m in Zurich and went on to share the 1-million dollar Golden League jackpot with Ethiopian distance runner Kenenisa Bekele and American 400m runner Sanya Richards.

However, far more important for Richards was her first major title at last, at the worlds, and she was also named women's Athlete of the Year.

Bekele, meanwhile, captured the first men's long distance double at the worlds with his 5,000m and 10,000m titles.

Australian pole vault Olympic champion Steve Hooker defied a nagging injury to grab the gold with just two jumps. Hooker had earlier in the year cleared 6.06m to become the second best vaulter ever, with only Sergey Bubka still ahead.

Also ahead of the worlds, Bolt made headlines by competing a 150m street race in Manchester, Britain.

While such events are expected to remain rare, the decision of the Berlin organizers to hold the full marathons over several laps outside the stadium in the city could be a model for future big championships.

'This is a step forward. Smaller lap courses are great for the public and television,' said IAAF competition director Paul Hardy.

The new Diamond League from 2010 onwards, 14 meets around the world from May until September replacing the six-event Golden League, is also to boost the popularity of athletics, with more races than in the past between Bolt and his rivals Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell the top attraction.