Now that's a photo finish! Usain Bolt grabs a camera and snaps his own historic frame after becoming greatest ever Olympic sprinter

• Usain Bolt retains his Olympic 200m in a time of 19.32, making him the first man to win that event and the 100m race at two Olympics
• Jamaican superstar came in fractionally behind his own world record as countrymen Yohan Blake gained silver and Warren Weir came third
• Silenced doubters with a finger on his lips as he crossed the line before falling to the floor to do press-ups in an incredible display of strength
• Bolt then grabs camera off Aftonbladet photographer Jimmy Wixtr to take celebratory pics of his team mates

Usain Bolt showed why he's sports finest showman as well as the world's greatest ever athlete by capturing his own Kodak moments with a borrowed press photographer's camera shorty after sprinting to victory in tonight's 200m final.
After he crossed the finishing line first ahead of compatriots Yohan Blake and Warren Weir, the 25-year-old Jamaican celebrated by dancing and skipping around the Olympic Stadium, as the 80,000-strong crowd rewarded him with a standing ovation.
Victorious, Bolt dropped to the track and performed press-ups, before borrowing a photographer camera to take souvenir snapshots of the occasion.

Gold number 2: Usain Bolt admires his second gold medal of London 2012, after winning the 200m final

Grinning: The double gold medal winner grabbed a photographer's camera and started taking snaps of the crowd

Mr charisma: As thousands of cameras flashed around the stadium, Bolt grabbed a snapshot of his own

Bolt approached photographer Jimmy Wixtr, who was covering the historic 200m final at the Olympics for Swedish paper Aftonbladet, who offered his camera to the athlete to take some of his own photos of the momentous occasion.
Mr Wixtr said: 'I had been asking him for several days if we could take a picture before the race. Yesterday, he promised me that we could take a picture of him afterwards.

 

'I wore the same hat I had been wearing all week so he would recognize me and called him over after he finished the race and asked him to take some photos.
'As a photographer, he is pretty good. He is charming and took several pictures of Blake while he joked.'
He added that Bolt has used his camera twice before - in Daegu and in Rome, when Bolt took pictures of himself during a workout.
Mr Wixtr admitted that Bolt has referred to him as his stalker, adding: 'He said it yesterday, but it was with a wink and a smile. He is never angry and I am quite calm and collected.'
After his quick session as a photographer, Bolt then went on to reward his fans with his famous lightning bolt pose.

Say cheese: Yohan Blake strikes a pose showing off his muscles as his team mate Usain Bolt takes his picture after the 200m final

Cheeky: Usain Bolt grabbed photographer Jimmy Wixtr's camera, who was covering the Olympics for Swedish paper Aftonbladet, to take pictures of his team mates

Funnyman: Yohan Blake pulls a tiger impression for cameraman Usain Bolt

Bolt's victory makes him the first man to have won both the 100m and 200m at two successive Olympics.
And he did it in emphatic style, powering home in 19.32 seconds, just a fraction outside the Olympic record of 19.30.
Yohan Blake and Warren Weir made it a Jamaican one-two-three. American Wallace Spearmon came fourth.
Bolt was pushed all the way by Blake, his friend and training partner, who was tipped by many to outshine his mentor in London.

But Bolt got off to a blistering start and powered into a lead around the bend.
In the final 100m it looked as if Blake was closing him down, but Bolt found and extra push and cruised over the line.
American 400m world record holder Michael Johnson said: 'Blake found after the start that Bolt was already gone. He displayed some speed endurance that I haven't seen before. He looked at the clock, realised that he was not on world record pace and decided to celebrate a little bit early!'

I'm No.1: Jamaica's Usain Bolt storms to victory in the men's 200m final

Easy: After strolling to victory, Bolt dropped to the track and did press-ups in the shadow of the Olympic Flame

Bolt's time, 19.32, was just outside the Olympic record of 19.30 that he set himself in Beijing

Jamaica 123: Bolt eased over the line in a time of 19.32, followed by Blake and Warren Weir, making it a Jamaica 1-2-3

Trademark: Bolt rewarded the crowd by striking his famous lightning bolt pose after collecting his gold medal

Blake said: 'Usain Bolt has been motivating me all season. Everything has been going good so far.'

Third-placed Weir added: "It's a great honour to come here and do what the country wanted, to get the top three.
'The love in London is very, very good.'
Bolt broke both 100m and 200m world records in Beijing.

He failed to better his record of 9.58 seconds in the 100m final, but predicted a fast time tonight.

After cruising to victory in last night's semi-final he said: 'There's a possibility (of a record), definitely.

'I can't say (for sure), but the track is fast. It's going to be a good race.'

Both Bolt and Blake qualified comfortably from yesterday's semi-finals.
Blake registered the fastest time from the two heats. Bolt had to settle for fifth after slowing down to a canter as he crossed the line, light years ahead of the rest of the field.
The two men are fierce rivals on the track. Off the track, they're friends and even training partners - Bolt acting as a mentor to the 20-year-old.
He's even given Blake a nickname: 'The beast.'

And away! Bolt's start set the tone for his race, the fourth fastest 200m in history

Fast start: Bolt broke from the blocks with blistering place, building a quick lead

Icon: Bolt's achievement elevates him above Carl Lewis, who defended his 100m title in Seoul in 1988

Bolt celebrated by kissing the track, hugging spectators, dropping and performing a set of press-ups and striking his lightning pose, before embracing compatriots Blake and Weir - who secured silver and bronze.

FASTEST 200M OF ALL TIME

1 Bolt 19.19 (2009)

2 Blake 19.26 (2011)

3 Bolt 19.30 (2008),

4 Bolt 19.32 (2012), Johnson 19.32 (1996),

6 Bolt 19.40 (2011)

He then told the BBC: "This is what I wanted and I got it. I'm very proud of myself. I had a rough season, I came out here and I did what I had to do.
'We've been working hard all season. We pushed ourselves, we pushed each other and we're happy."
Asked if he could have had a world record, Bolt added: "I think it was possible...but I guess I wasn't fit enough. I was fast but I wasn't fit enough.
'I came off the corner, I could feel the strain on my back a little bit so I was trying to keep my form, but
I stopped running because I knew it wasn't going to be a world record. When I came off the corner I could feel it.
'It was hard. I really dedicated [myself] to my work, I know what London meant to me. I came here and I gave it my all and I'm proud of myself.
'I didn't get a world record - I really wanted to do it in the 200m - but I'm happy.'

Fastest man on Earth: Bolt powered past fellow Jamaican Yohan Blake

No world record: Bolt glances at the official clock as he powers towards the finish line

After his victory, Bolt said: 'It¿s what I came here to do. I¿m now a legend. I¿m also the greatest athlete to live.'

Yohan Blake, Usain Bolt and Warren Weir celebrate their phenomenal 1-2-3 for Jamaica

Blake said: 'Usain Bolt has been motivating me all season. Everything has been going good so far."
Third-placed Weir added: "It's a great honour to come here and do what the country wanted, to get the top three.
'The love in London is very, very good.'
The green, yellow and black flags of Jamaica were held aloft around the Olympic Stadium.
Marcia Henry, a teaching mentor from Willesden Green, London, whose parents are from Jamaica, said: 'I feel proud for London and Jamaica.
'It was a fantastic race. Bolt is a fantastic athlete and fantastic showman.
'I've got no words to describe this, really. I'm just over the moon to have been here to witness him making history. It was absolutely amazing.'

 

Fellow Jamaica fan Catherine Gardner, an early years practitioner from Islington, said: 'I think it's such a significant race because of the history of it, the (black power) protest in Mexico, Jesse Owens ran in the 200m too.

'Jamaica is such a small place in the world and the role of these sprinters so important. It was Jamaica, 1,2,3, so Jamaica rules.'
After receiving his gold medal, Bolt again delighted thousands of fans and received a second standing ovation by giving his trademark pose on top of the podium.
Seemingly confirming the newspaper headlines that will appear around the world tomorrow, Bolt said:
'It’s what I came here to do. I’m now a legend. I’m also the greatest athlete to live.'

Olympic spirit: Double champion Bolt celebrates below the raging Olympic cauldron

Proud: Fans back home in Jamaica scream with joy as they watch their nation complete a 1-2-3 in the 200m

Bolt broke both 100m and 200m world records in Beijing.
He failed to better his record of 9.58 seconds in the 100m final, but predicted a fast time tonight.
After cruising to victory in last night's semi-final he said: 'There's a possibility (of a record), definitely.
'I can't say (for sure), but the track is fast. It's going to be a good race.'
Both Bolt and Blake qualified comfortably from yesterday's semi-finals.
Blake registered the fastest time from the two heats. Bolt had to settle for fifth after slowing down to a canter as he crossed the line, light years ahead of the rest of the field.

Jamaica one-two: Bolt beat fellow Jamaican Yohan Blake to gold in the 100m final

The two men are fierce rivals on the track. Off the track, they're friends and even training partners - Bolt acting as a mentor to the 20-year-old.
He's even given Blake a nickname: 'The beast.'
The mentor/protege relationship was shaken when Blake pipped Bolt to first place in the Jamaican trials.
But Bolt returned to form in time for the 100m final in London, soundly beating his compatriot, who was forced to settle for a silver medal.

Blake speaks fondly of his friendship with Bolt, but insisted they both left their relationship in the locker room when they stepped out into the stadium tonight.
He said: 'When I train I train like a beast. That's why Usain gave me the name. Off the track it's different. He is a calm guy. We are always friends.
'We always have fun, joke around. On the day it's all business, each man for himself. Win or lose we are going to be friends. I try not to build up a rivalry because at the end of the day it's just a race. If you focus on a rivalry you might not get the work done.'

 

Team GB's golden girls: Women lead the latest gold rush after THREE more victories but BBC chiefs warn staff not to be too patriotic

• Charlotte Dujardin, Nicola Adams and Jade Jones all found themselves in the same position, making Olympic history for Britain
• Dujardin won gold in the individual freestyle dressage, Adams became the first women’s boxing champion and last night Jones triumphed in taekwondo
• Staff working on BBC News bulletins sent a memo urging them to focus more on the achievements of other countries, and not just Team GB
• The triple win reinvigorated Team GB’s campaign, taking the number of golds won by the host nation to 25, the highest for 104 years

There can be no greater contrast between their respective sports.
One is genteel and elegant, the other two brutal and frenzied.
But yesterday Charlotte Dujardin, Nicola Adams and Jade Jones all found themselves in the same position, making Olympic history for Britain.

Golden girls: Charlotte Dujardin with her second Gold for Team GB after winning in the individual freestyle dressage

Winning women: Yesterday Nicola Adams and Jade Jones found themselves in the same position, making Olympic history for Britain

Dujardin won gold in the individual freestyle dressage, Adams became the first women’s boxing champion and last night Jones triumphed in taekwondo.

 

In a bizarre twist, the latest gold rush came on a day when it emerged that staff working on BBC News bulletins  had been sent a memo urging them to focus more on the achievements of other countries, and not just Team GB. 
The message was sent by head of news Helen Boaden, following a complaint by Director General Mark Thompson.

Memo anger: The message was sent by head of news Helen Boaden, following a complaint by Director General Mark Thompson.

It irritated staff and last night the 6pm news still began with the news of the British success, although the 10pm bulletin led on Usain Bolt’s success in the 200m.
After a Wednesday without any medals, the triple win reinvigorated Team GB’s campaign, taking the number of golds won by the host nation to 25, the highest for 104 years.
It also raised the overall medal tally to 52 – well above the target of 48.

Winner: Dujardin came first in the individual dressage and her fellow Team GB rider Laura Bechtolsheimer took the bronze

History: Great Britain's Nicola Adams becomes the first woman to win Olympic boxing gold after victory over Ren Cancan at ExCeL

Proud: Jade Jones became Britain¿s youngest Olympic champion at London 2012 as the 19-year-old nicknamed the 'Head Hunter' claimed taekwondo gold

Dujardin, 27, who already had a gold medal from team dressage, was the last competitor to go in the packed Greenwich Park arena.
She rode her horse Valegro to victory accompanied by movie themes including the Great Escape and Live And Let Die, and patriotic British tunes such as Land of Hope and Glory and I Vow to Thee, My Country.
‘It is unbelievable,’ she said. ‘It is always something I’ve known the horse could achieve, but I didn’t really know how I was going to find the atmosphere and the expectation.’

Result! Kate beams as she applauds the victory as she sits with MP Nick Clegg and rower Sir Steve Redgrave on one side and Sir Timothy Lawrence and Princess Anne on the other

Raised the roof: David Cameron was also among the thousands of spectators who roared Adams to victory in London's ExCel

She pipped Dutch rider Adelinde Cornelissen while Britain’s Laura Bechtolsheimer, another team gold medallist, took bronze.
Dujardin became only the fourth British woman to win double gold at one Games after Dame Kelly  Holmes, Rebecca Adlington and Laura Trott.
Over at the ExCeL centre, the Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Anne and David Cameron were all among the crowd to see 29-year-old Nicola Adams, from Leeds, pull off an unexpected win by outclassing three-times world champion Ren Canan.

Filling up medal cabinet: Britain's third sailing medal is also assured as Luke Patience and Stuart Bithell are guaranteed at least silver in the 470 class

Later at the same venue, 19-year-old Jade Jones became GB’s youngest gold winner when she beat China’s Hou Yuzhuo 6-4 in the final of the taekwondo under-57kg featherweight category.
Britain’s third sailing medal is also assured as Luke Patience and Stuart Bithell are guaranteed at least silver in the 470 class.
The pair are due to go for gold today against an Australian crew after their final race was delayed owing to lack of wind at Weymouth yesterday.

We are too focused on Team GB: Astonishing memo from 'increasingly unhappy' BBC boss over patriotic tone of news coverage

• TV and radio newsroom staff were astonished by an email sent yesterday, which told them to focus on the achievements of other nations
• Last night’s Six O’Clock bulletin led on the two golds for boxer Nicola Adams and dressage rider Charlotte Dujardin

Memo: Director general Mark Thompson is said to be 'unhappy' with the patriotic tone of the news coverage

BBC chiefs have ordered their news teams to stop focusing so much on Team GB’s stunning Olympics success.
Director general Mark Thompson is said to be ‘increasingly unhappy’ with the patriotic tone of the news coverage of the Games.
News presenters such as George Alaghia and Sophie Raworth have celebrated Team GB’s performance as the number of gold medals rocketed to 24 yesterday, with many of the winners featured at the top of every bulletin.
TV and radio newsroom staff were astonished by an email sent yesterday, which told them to focus on the achievements of other nations as well as our own.
In the message, titled ‘An order from the DG’, director of news Helen Boaden wrote: ‘Mark Thompson is increasingly unhappy that we are focusing far too much on Team GB’s performance to the exclusion of all else.
‘This is also becoming a theme within the Press.
‘As editor in chief, he has issued a directive that this needs to change from today. So you need to get cracking on making that shift.’
BBC news editors were irritated at the tone of Miss Boaden’s email.
One insider told the Mail: ‘We never get direct orders like this.
‘It is only natural that our viewers and listeners want to hear about Team GB’s successes. All the other countries celebrate their own medal winners.

 

‘It would be a shame if we had to water down our coverage to satisfy an abstract notion of fairness.’

Indeed, last night’s Six O’Clock  bulletin led on the two golds for boxer Nicola Adams and dressage rider Charlotte Dujardin.

Home turf: Last night’s Six O’Clock bulletin led on the two golds for boxer Nicola Adams and dressage rider Charlotte Dujardin

The BBC has been widely praised for its Olympics programmes, hosted by sports presenters including Clare Balding, Gary Lineker and Gabby Logan.

The email was sent by the BBC's Helen Boaden

Last night a BBC source told the Mail: ‘This is most definitely not about the sports coverage – it has been flawless – and it is certainly not meant to denigrate the sterling work of the presenters.
‘This is about our Six O’Clock and Ten O’Clock news. We want to make sure the entire games is covered.’ 
The Olympics coverage has come as a welcome success for the Corporation after its Diamond Jubilee presentation in June was attacked for being inaccurate and banal, and attracted almost 5,000 complaints.
Writing on the BBC’s own online message board, viewers were quick to defend the BBC’s coverage of the Games against charges of ‘jingoism’.

One wrote: ‘If you can’t blow your own vuvuzela when you’re the host nation, when can you?
‘I think it’s been a great games so far . . . exceeded all expectations for me, and though the Beeb messed up the Diamond Jubilee on a grand scale, they have redeemed themselves with the fantastic coverage this week.’
Last night Mr Thompson said: ‘I am as delighted as our audiences and the whole BBC team about the brilliant performance of Team GB, and it is quite wrong to suggest otherwise.
‘The BBC has been right to focus on sporting achievements which the whole country has been celebrating, and we will continue to do so with pride.
‘We can do that while at the same time making sure that our news programmes fully reflect some of the other great sporting achievements and human stories of the London Games.’

Praised: The BBC has been widely praised for its Olympics programmes, hosted by sports presenters including Clare Balding, Gary Lineker and Gabby Logan

Champ from school of hard knocks: From inner-city estate to Olympic podium, Nicola punches her way into history books

She almost gave up her sport because no one would sponsor her, forcing her to work on a building site and as a soap opera extra.
But yesterday Nicola Adams – who hails from the ‘school of hard knocks’ – became The History Woman as she became Britain’s first ever female Olympic boxing champion.
Described as a ‘mummy’s girl’ whose personality changes in the ring, Nicola, 29, triumphed against the world number one, China’s Cancan Ren, in a thrilling 16-7 victory.

Gold medal grin: Nicola Adams clutches her gold medal, Team GB's 24th of the 2012 Games

Joyous: Adams thanked supporters and said: 'I'm bringing that gold medal back to Leeds!'

Celebrating with a dance-move she later called ‘the Nicki shuffle,’ she received a standing ovation from the raucous crowd.
Last night Leroy Brown, who trained Adams when she was just 12, said growing up on the inner-city Burmantofts estate in Leeds had helped Adams develop a relentless drive to succeed.
‘What makes her so good is her determination in life. She took all the hard knocks in her life and she’s taken women forward. It’s just amazing,’ he said. ‘You saw history being created.’

 

Later, the 5ft 4in flyweight – who worked on Coronation Street and EastEnders – said winning gold was a ‘fairytale ending’.
She said she would celebrate with a trip to Nandos ‘for a Chicken pitta medium with chips’ – and by going home to see her beloved doberman, Dexter.
‘This is just like a dream come true,’ she said. ‘I have just wanted this all my life and I’ve worked so hard.’
She said the atmosphere in the stadium, where the crowd of spectators chanted ‘Nicola, Nicola’ throughout the match, had been ‘incredible’.

Smiling assassin: Adams is the first ever Olympic gold medal-winning woman boxer

‘All I could hear was people chanting my name,’ she said. ‘It meant so much. I was really trying to fight back the tears during the national anthem.

'Babyface': Nicola Adams, pictured at the age of seven

Asked if she thought the medal would change her, she smiled and said: ‘Gold medal? I’m still the normal Nicki that everyone knows, walking my dog.’
Miss Adams, known to her family as ‘Babyface’, grew up wanting to box. While other girls dreamed of being ballerinas and pop stars, she says: ‘I was watching Mohammed Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard, the old fighters get in the ring, and I dreamed one day I would do that.’
She had trouble persuading boxing trainer Fred Gummerson to let her fight when she first put on gloves at Burmantofts Amateur Boxing Club aged 11.
At 12, she started training with Mr Brown, who runs Sharky’s Boxing Academy in nearby Meanwood.
But she found it wasn’t easy to compete in a man’s world.
While she was doing her GCSEs, debate was still raging as to whether women should even be allowed to box.
Even once she had persuaded her family and her trainers to let her fight, there were few other girls for her to fight against.
Financially it was a struggle, too. For years her mother Dee, 52, who is divorced from Nicola’s father, tirelessly chased potential sponsors – but not a single person or company ever put up a penny.
When she turned 18, Miss Adams became the first woman boxer to represent England.

Gold! Britain's Nicola Adams celebrates after she's declared winner of her gold medal final against China's Ren Cancan

Floored: Adams, 29, from Leeds, floors Cancan with a killer blow during a dominant second round

Britain's Nicola Adams lands a blow on her Chinese opponent Ren Cancan during the 51kg final in London's Excel Centre

Baby Face: Adams is sprayed down in her corner between rounds

In 2007 she was the first to win a European boxing medal and the following year the first to win a World Championship medal.
But despite her success, she still couldn’t get funding, and took odd jobs on building sites and as a soap opera extra to get by.
Worse still, her career hung by a thread three years ago when a back injury left her bedridden for three months.
But she recovered from the injury, and finally won funding in 2009, when the International Olympic Committee backed women’s boxing for the first time.
Now Nicola, 29, receives £27,737 a year tax-free funding from UK Sport and drives a sponsor’s car.

Fight fan: Kate Middleton applauds Adams' victory from the crowd inside the Excel Centre

Fans in high places: Even Prime Minister David Cameron was glued to the TV in No.10, watching Nicola Adams in action

Dee Adams says her daughter ‘is totally different when she’s in the ring.’  At home, she says, ‘she is gentle in a way and she is a mummy’s girl and easy going’.
After watching her daughter win gold, she said: ‘I’m feeling absolutely fantastic. I’m just speechless right now. I’ve got a little glass of champers already and I’ll be having a few more!’
Mrs Adams said it had been ‘really tough’ for her daughter at times as a female boxer.
‘I thought, you know, she’s doing this for her country and she isn’t getting the recognition she deserves.
‘But now she has made history. It is amazing. I am just so proud of her.’