MANCHESTER, England (AFP) – Triple Olympic champion Usain Bolt ran the fastest ever 150m yesterday in a street race held in a chilly and windy Manchester city centre.
Bolt came home in 14.35 sec, beating the previous best recorded by Italian Pietro Mennea of 14.8 in 1983. Britain’s Marlon Devonish was second in 15.07sec.

In the women’s race, American Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie clocked 16.54sec to beat Britain’s Olympic 400m gold medalist Christine Ohuruogu, who ran 17.10sec.

Jamaican Bolt, 22, had earlier predicted he would smash his own world 100m record this year.

He said bettering his world record of 9.69 seconds that he set in Beijing last August “shouldn’t be a problem” this year.

“My coach expressed his views in Beijing, saying I could run 9.54, and I can definitely do that,” he told the BBC.

“I still feel goose bumps when I hear or watch the Beijing 100m, it feels good to know I’ve done such a wonderful thing.

“But the 100m final was just another day for me. I knew I was going to win – I was feeling good, my starts were better and that was my main concern, so I wasn’t really worried.

“I don’t really think about (breaking the record again) but I think it’s possible if everything goes well in training.”

Asked how long he hoped to remain a force in world athletics, Bolt forecast he would be a threat until at least 2015.

“I can be at the top for six years if I want,” he said. “That’s the aim for me. My main goal is to make myself a legend and I’m going to work really hard to do that.”

Meanwhile, Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie comfortably won the Great Manchester Run by 34 seconds with Kenyan Vivian Cheruiyot’s winning the women’s race.

However, Gebrselassie failed in his bid to reclaim his world 10km record as gusting winds made his task impossible.