Bolt Delivers at Historic Bislett Games

(ATR) Usain Bolt once again demonstrates his enormous star power and knack for captivating audiences at the ExxonMobil Bislett Games in Oslo on Thursday, starring in the opening festivities and then topping that with a convincing victory in his season debut at 200 meters.

Click here to view an On-the-Scene Photodesk from Oslo.

Despite racing in less than ideal conditions with the temperature around 14 degrees Celsius, Bolt looked strong, displaying impressive form and pushing hard through the finish, crossing the line in 19.79 seconds to set a new meet and stadium record. It was also the fastest time in the event this season. Jaysuma Saidy Ndure of Norway was second, a substantial .57 off the Jamaican’s pace.

"It was chilly, then we had the false start and then it got cold waiting around," Bolt said after the race. "Overall, it was a good run though. I can’t complain. It’s sub-20. For me, it shows I’m not in as bad shape as I thought I was."

Nearly as thrilling as Bolt’s performance was his entrance during the official opening of the meet. The six-time Olympic champion drove an electric Formula One-style racecar twice around the track, bringing the capacity crowd of 15,400 to their feet.

"I test-drove it yesterday, so I knew it would be safe," Bolt joked with reporters. "For me, it was a lot of fun. It didn’t go fast enough, but it was ok. It was the meets’ idea deciding that. They asked me if I wanted to drive a Formula One and I said ‘why not?’"

Also as part of the festivities at the historic venue, which hosted the 1952 Olympic opening and closing ceremonies, was the arrival and introduction of Norwegian Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit.

Following opening remarks by Bislett Alliance chairman Oskar Petter Jensrud, British middle distance legends Sebastian Coe, Steve Ovett and Steve Cram were honored and interviewed on the large screen in the stadium. Between 1979 and 1985, the trio combined for seven world records while racing at the Bislett Games.

On an evening threatened by dark clouds, although the rain held off, Bolt was once again the consummate performer, sending the Norwegian audience home more than satisfied.

"The crowd and the track is wonderful here," Bolt said, when asked why he keeps returning to Norway despite the cold temperatures. "I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like looking at the women here, but the track and crowd is awesome. It’s a nice country and I enjoy being here."

The 26-year-old star will next compete at Jamaica’s national trials on June 21 ahead of the IAAF World Championships in Moscow from Aug. 10 to 18.

Stars Set Sights on Moscow

Bolt, who will be seeking to add to his career haul of five world championship gold medals at this summer’s championships, said he is eager for what will be a new experience for him.

"I’ve never been to Russia," Bolt said. "I have absolutely no idea really what to expect or what’s going to happen. I don’t know what my fan base will be in Russia, but that’s the good thing about going to new places.

"You just go there and take in the experience, experience the culture and how the people are, and the energy. I’m really looking forward to running in Moscow and doing my best and hopefully the fan base will be great."

Anna Chicherova, the reigning Olympic and world high jump champion, who finished third on Thursday losing to fellow Russian Svetlana Shkolina, said she is excited for the sport to gain added exposure in her home country.

"It’s a good opportunity to have the world championships in our country," Chicherova said. " It’s nice that more stars will come to the track and people in our country can see the top athletes and focus on track and field a little bit. I hope that the Moscow championships will be organized well."

Chicherova, 30, said she spends considerable time training in Sochi, which will host the first-ever Winter Olympics in Russia, just six months after the track and field world championships.

"It’s really a perfect training camp there with everything that we need," said Chicherova, a three-time Olympian, about the Black Sea resort city. "The stadium is near the hotel where we stay, we have great training facilities and there is wellness for recovery and rehabilitation. It’s good that summer sports can also use facilities in Sochi.

"We have sea and the mountains there and I think it will surprise people that have never been to Sochi," she said. "I want to come to Sochi to support our team. I have never been to the Winter Olympics before. It will be nice to have a different perspective."

Thoughts from Thorkildsen

Two-time Olympic javelin champion Andreas Thorkildsen has remained Norway’s most polarizing track and field athlete even though his results have fallen off slightly over the past few years.

Thorkildsen offered his thoughts on how the sport can improve on marketing itself, beyond the Usain Bolt factor and particularly in non-Olympic years.

"We have to do the interviews and work together everyday to promote our sport as best as we can and that’s a shared responsibility for all the athletes, the IAAF and everyone in between," Thorkildsen said.

"Everyone wants a packed house every time we go out and luckily we now have Bolt and it’s sort of a guarantee," he said. "But we have to work towards having a packed stadium without Bolt. He’s not going to run 19.8 every time out and eventually he’s going to get old.

"We have an exciting sport and we have something for everybody, we just have to be able to show it."

When asked about the possibility of creating or developing new events or race formats for Olympic competition, Thorkildsen said: "To fit with the IOC and in the Olympics, I don’t think we can do too much more with track and field. It’s what you do outside of the Olympics. We can have more street meets, mall pole vaults, high jumps out on the pier like they used to do here, and for example Stockholm holds a shot put outside of the stadium in the city. There is room for creativity."

Olympic Champ Defar Blazes World Lead

In addition to Bolt, another world leading performance came from Ethiopia’s Meseret Defar. The 2012 Olympic gold medalist clocked 14:26.90 in the women’s 5,000 meters, 15 seconds faster than the previous world lead of the season.

The third world leading performance of the meet belonged to Zuzana Hejnova of the Czech Republic, who took top honors in the 400m hurdles with a time of 53.60 seconds.

In the Exxon Mobil Dream Mile, Ayanleh Souleiman of Djibouti won in 3:50.53. Great Britain’s Cram, who was honored with Coe and Ovett on Thursday, still held on to his meet record of 3:46.32 set in 1986.

The IAAF Diamond League series continues in Birmingham, England on June 30.

Reported in Oslo by Brian Pinelli

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