Usain Bolt's third gold medal of the world championships failed to produce a third world record because the Jamaican 4x100m relay team only managed to produce the second-fastest time in history. “It is a little bit my fault,” an apologetic Bolt said. “I was a little tired.” Since the Beijing Olympics, Bolt had won five major gold medals with a world record each time. But after his latest two in Berlin, the Jamaican star and his teammates fell short of perfection. With former world-record holder Asafa Powell taking the baton from Bolt for the anchor leg, Jamaica won in 37.31 seconds, a championship record but slower than the world record mark of 37.10 they set in Beijing last year. Trinidad and Tobago took silver and Britain got bronze. The absence of the record left the ever ebullient Bolt subdued. Instead of his antics and mimicking, Bolt sat down on the track and stretched. He untied his shoes and hugged Powell. They planned for a big party in Berlin, though. “It is top secret where we are going,” Bolt said. “Any where he is going, I am going,” Powell added. Bolt has plenty of reason to celebrate. The 100m and 200m world-record holder was perfect when it came to his three golds, much like Jesse Owens was 73 years ago when he went four-for-four at the same stadium during the 1936 Berlin Olympics. And on Saturday, it was another American to take gold in the long jump. During a final laden with symbolism, Dwight Phillips jumped 8.54 meters on his second attempt to win. His main rival, Olympic champion Irving Saladino of Panama, was eliminated with three no-jumps. Phillips got the gold medal from Owens' granddaughter, Marlene Hemphill Dortch, later Saturday, smiling and hugging her. Phillips beat Godfrey Khotso Mokoena of South Africa, who jumped 8.47 for silver. Owens won four gold medals in 1936, and as a black athlete became a symbol of racial equality in sports. The Olympic Stadium did see a world record, just not the one it expected. Anita Wlodarczyk of Poland set a world record of 77.96 meters to win the hammer throw and earn a $160,000 check for winning a title with a record. Wlodarczyk reached the mark on her second effort and did not make any other attempts until the sixth and final series. Betty Heidler of Germany won silver. Despite the long jump victory Saturday, it still was a bittersweet day for the American team. The United States failed to make the women's 4x100m relay final, with Muna Lee falling to the ground injured after a handover in the heats. The accident compounded the US relay problems one day after the men's team was disqualified from its heat for handing over the baton outside the designated zone. The American women were running a smooth race but Lee was struggling to get a clean handoff from Alexandria Anderson, the second of four runners. Once she did, a sudden pain came over her, and everything came apart. Lee hobbled and fell to the ground clutching her left leg. She was taken off the track on a stretcher, with ice on her leg. The incident ruined the ambition of 200m champion Allyson Felix, who was trying to equal her accomplishment from two years ago when she won three golds at the worlds in Osaka, Japan. Instead, Jamaica ran to victory in 42.06 seconds, beating the Bahamas for silver and Germany for bronze. With Bolt's relay win, it was Jamaica's fifth sprint victory at the world championships, extending the country's overwhelming domination over the Americans. Earlier Saturday, Abel Kirui and Emmanuel Mutai made sure Kenya is keeping an edge over Ethiopia, finishing 1-2 in the men's marathon. The intense African rivalry for medal supremacy swung Kenya's way for good under the Brandenburg Gate when the two Kenyans ran Tsegay Kebede of Ethiopia into submission in the fastest marathon in world championship history. Kenya rubbed it in at the Olympic Stadium later Saturday when Vivian Cheruiyot led Kenya to a 1-2 finish in the women's 5,000, and reduced Ethiopian favorite Meseret Defar to bronze. The double 1-2 finish gave Kenya four golds and 10 overall, and left Ethiopia with one gold and six overall. Robles returning to Cuba Dayron Robles is retuning to Cuba for tests on the injury that forced him to miss the 110-meter hurdles final. Robles, the Olympic champion and world-record holder, failed to reach Thursday's final, pulling up injured after hitting the first three hurdles in his semifinal heat. Robles also struggled in the opening heat of the event, scraping through in 13.67 seconds, .76 off his world record time.
