Bolt on his way to becoming a legend and he is not afraid to say it

I watched Usain Bolt bring down the house tonight at Olympic Stadium in London as he repeated as the Olympic 100-meter champion. Here is a sneak preview of the first part of tomorrow's column about the event:

LONDON – He is the Muhammad Ali of his sport – full of gesticulations, prognostications and downright silliness.

Besides being the fastest man to ever run, Usain Bolt is just plain fun.

Bolt won 100-meter race in an Olympic-record 9.63 seconds Sunday night, gobbling up the track with his 10-foot strides in what turned out to be the fastest 100-meter field in history.

The Jamaican sprinter then turned those 10 seconds into 20 minutes of playful celebration. His victory lap included his signature point-to-the-sky move, as well as camera-mugging, neck-hugging and even a somersault.

There were 80,000 people in Olympic Stadium, and they ate it up. They shouted until they were hoarse. They clapped until their hands hurt.

They were the lucky ones. A couple of million who had unsuccessfully applied for tickets for this particular night.

Bolt, 25, is trying to become the first man to win the 100 and 200 at consecutive Olympics. But those are just numbers.

What Bolt wants – and what he is rapidly achieving – is more ethereal. He wants to become a legend, and he’s not afraid to say it.

“That’s a first step for me,” Bolt said after the race. “I think I have to defend my 200-meter title also, and then I will consider myself a legend.”

Also, former Raleigh Broughton high school star Jesse Williams qualified for the final of the high jump. That will be held Tuesday.