Thu Aug 20, 2009 12:52 pm EDT

Exactly one year in Beijing, Usain Bolt broke Michael Johnson's once-untouchable record in the 200m, lowering the mark .02 seconds from 19.32 to 19.30. Earlier that morning, we debated whether Bolt would be able to run such a time, eventually predicting that he would.
With the fastest man ever set to run in the 200m final at the world track championships in Berlin at 2:35 p.m. ET (watch live on the internet at universalsports.com), we thought it was time for another prediction. But this time we're not so optimistic.
Of the three major races Bolt has run in his life (Olympic 100m, Olympic 200m, World Champs 100m) only one of those races has been close to perfect -- the 200m in Beijing. Bolt's 100m in the Olympics is well-known for his chest-thumping at the 90m mark, but even his 100m on Sunday in Berlin wasn't flawless. He looked around for Tyson Gay at the 85m mark and broke his stride even while running through the line.
His 200m at the Olympics, however, was basically 19 seconds of perfection. He made up the stagger almost immediately, ran the turn with ease and accelerated in the final meters. It won't be nearly as easy to best that time.
That's not to say he won't, though. Bolt's 9.58 was staggering. Given that time, it wouldn't be a surprise if he went a 19.25 tonight in Berlin. But don't expect another world record shattering like we saw on Sunday.
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