In just over half the time that it took FC Halifax Town to concede a goal after the break in their opening game at the weekend, Usain Bolt raced down the home straight in the Birds' Nest Stadium in Beijing.

It was not just the fact that he won - he was one of the pre-race favourites.

It was not even that he set a new world record of 9.69seconds for the 100 metres.

It was the fact that he stopped running flat out with 20 metres of the race still to be run.

Down went the arms before he thumped his chest and turned sideways as he crossed the line.

He was so far in front of his rivals it was almost like he had started further down the track than the rest.

But the reality was that, according to the official computer, he was slowest out of the blocks.

He was even more relaxed in the earlier rounds, jogging over the line from just past the halfway mark.

Bolt probably got through four rounds of the competition by running flat out for just 250 metres.

By my reckoning, if he gets a good start and actually runs for the full distance he could drop the world record below nine seconds.

SHOULD anyone be interested, my views on Paula Radcliffe's failure to complete the course at the 2004 Games in Athens can be found by searching the internet.

Four years on and the 34-year-old showed real guts to run the race - and finish it - after minimal preparation.

It was almost certain to end it tears, which it did.

But for once I take my hat off to the long distance runner who hobbled into the stadium at the end of a tortuous 26 miles.

I just hope that Radcliffe finishing the race does not overshadow the achievements of Oxford-born Mara Yamauchi whose sixth-placed finish was the best by a British woman in an Olympic marathon.

REBECCA Romero wrote herself into British Olympic history when she won gold in the women's individual sprint at the velodrome four years after taking silver as a rower four years ago.

And she only turned to two wheels when she was unable to get into a boat because of injury.

She is clearly a very talented athlete and defeated fellow Brit Wendy Houvenaghel to top the podium.

Apparently rowers often cycle during training.

The remarkable thing about her is that she was not regarded as the best cyclist in the British rowing team.

How many more will be thinking about changing sport now, I wonder?