It was his initial race since being injured earlier this month in the Jamaican Olympic trials.
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On the opening night of the London Anniversary Games, the 29-year-old sporting legend was the only man in the field to run sub-20 seconds.
It contributed to plenty of fast times across the 10th Diamond League meeting of the season – as well as two significant record-breaking moments for the British team.
“For me I felt it was a joke, I felt it was a disrespect they think I’d back out of a trial”, Bolt was quoted as saying by BBC on Saturday.
“I can tell I’m not in really top shape”.
“I could feel the rust, I definitely needed races and that’s why I was sad that I didn’t get to compete at my trials because I needed these races”.
While Kendra Harrison broke the world 100m hurdles record (read report here), Laura Muir came of age with a British record breaking performance – a feat also matched by the women’s 4x100m relay line-up.
Harrison will still be cheering on her teammates in Rio.
Only unlike Bolt, Harrison is not going to the Olympics.
Usain Bolt is a living legend as he’s considered the fastest person ever timed when it comes to his running speed.
The Scot powered well clear of the field to come home in 3:57.49, winning by more than three seconds and eclipsing double Olympic champion Holmes’ mark of 3:57.90 from the Athens Olympics in 2004.
The time ranks her second in the world this year, making her a medal contender in Rio. A hamstring injury, however, has hampered recent preparations meaning this was his first 200m outing of the year.
Quick Take 3: Which Would You Rather Have – Olympic Gold Or The World Record? “It’s great to have”.
In that race, Brits Tiffany Porter (12.70sec) and Jessica Ennis-Hill (13.04sec) were sixth and eighth respectively.
Asked if she had mixed feelings about not qualifying for the Olympics, the new world record holder said: “Yes. Yes”.
Third place went to Katarina Johnson-Thompson thanks to a personal best 1.95m clearance.
Choose which celebrity you’d like help from in the new Couch to 5K programme, designed for people who have done little or no running.
Harrison’s face was a picture of shock and joy, but mostly shock, as she began to register the magnitude of her achievement before sinking to her knees on the track where she had won her earlier semi-final in 12.40.
The 30-year-old, back at the Olympic Stadium where she memorably took gold as the poster girl of London 2012, clocked 12.76 seconds to finish third in her heat.
In the absence of Bolt, who focused on the 200m instead, the men’s 100m went to the Frenchman Jimmy Vicaut.
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Britons CJ Ujah and Richard Kilty both clocked 10.16, with Kilty fading in the final 30m after a strong start.
