Athletics:Olympic and world champion Usain Bolt cruised to victory over 200 metres in a meeting record of 19.57 seconds at the Brussels Golden League tonight.
The irrepressible Bolt, paraded around the King Baudouin stadium in a convertible car at the start of the meeting, glided round the bend of the newly laid track before cantering over the finish line to beat the previous best of American Tyson Gay in 2006.
American world champion Sanya Richards obliterated the field in the 400 metres winning in a meeting record of 48.83 seconds to ensure a share of the €700,000 Golden League jackpot.
Competitors must win their events at all six of the season's Golden League meetings to earn the cash prize.
The capacity crowd at the Memorial Van Damme meeting in Brussels were denied a sprint duel between Bolt and the world's second fastest man, Tyson Gay, who opted for the 100 metres.
But it was Asafa Powell who took the blue riband event in 9.90 seconds from world championship silver medallist Gay.
The Jamaican's victory was never in doubt on a rain-soaked Brussels track after Gay's poor start.
"I just got my butt kicked," was Gay's verdict.
A team from Kenya earlier broke the world record in the rarely run 4 x 1,500 metres relay with a time of 14:36:23,. The time was almost two seconds better than the previous best set by a West German team in 1977, which until Friday was the oldest existing world record.
The meeting in Brussels marked the end of 12 seasons of the Golden League. Next year, world governing body IAAF will launch the Diamond League, a 14-city tour also including events in Asia and the United States.