Bolt completes clean sweep

Usain Bolt made it three out of three as he helped Jamaica claim gold in the 4x100 metres relay at the world championships in…

Usain Bolt made it three out of three as he helped Jamaica claim gold in the 4x100 metres relay at the world championships in the second-fastest time ever run.

Their victory in 37.31 seconds was bettered only by their winning time of 37.10 at last year's Beijing Olympics.

It completed another great night for the Jamaican sprinters after the women won the 4x100 gold and both 4x400 teams qualified for Sunday's final.

A full house at the Olympic Stadium also had a world record to cheer as Poland's Anita Wlodarczyk hurled the hammer 77.96 metres to break Russian Tatyana Lysenko's three-year-old mark of 77.80.

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It might not have attracted the same publicity as Bolt's heroics in the 100 and 200 but it earned a gold medal and the same $100,000 cheque.

There were Kenyan one-twos in the men's marathon and women's 5,000 metres.

Abel Kirui won the morning marathon in a championship record two hours 06 minutes and 54 seconds with Emmanuel Mutai taking silver and Ethiopia's Tsegay Kebede claiming bronze.

Vivian Cheruiyot, silver medallist in 2007, won a tactical 5,000 by storming down the final straight to finish in 14:57.97 with Sylvia Kibet snatching second from Ethiopian favourite Meseret Defar.

American Dwight Phillips won the long jump with a mark of 8.54 metres while injured Australian Olympic champion Steve Hooker claimed the pole vault gold with just one successful attempt at 5.90 metres.

With the United States disqualified from the 4x100 relay after Friday's semi-finals, Jamaica merely had to get the baton round safely to secure gold.

Time-served doper Steve Mullings led them off, Michael Frater ran a solid back straight and Bolt took command on the bend. He ensured a safe handover to Asafa Powell and the individual bronze medallist roared home.

Bolt is now triple world and Olympic champion, five of the titles achieved with world records.

He said his tiredness was to blame for Jamaica's narrow failure to break their world record but described winning three world golds as wonderful.

"I'm proud of myself and the relay is always fun, much better than running alone," he said.

Asked if he was a legend, he added. "I don't think so. Year after year I have to become champion and champion again."

Sunday, the final day of action, features the women's marathon in the morning then seven finals squeezed into a two-hour evening session, where the men's 5,000 and 800, women's 1,500 and both 4x400 relays should be the highlights.