NEW YORK (May 31, 2008) - At the fourth-annual Reebok Grand Prix, lightning struck twice: first in the conventional sense, and then when 21-year-old Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt thundered his way past triple World Champion Tyson Gay to break the World Record for 100 meters with a stunning 9.72-second victory.

It was the first 100-meter World Record set in the United States in 12 years, since Donovan Bailey's Olympic gold medal performance in Atlanta in 1996, and a jolt unlike any the sports world has seen in some time.

"I wasn't looking for a World Record," said Bolt, the 200-meter World Championships silver medalist at 200 meters. "But it was there for the taking."

A standing-room only crowd in Icahn Stadium that included thousands of chanting Jamaicans gave the event an international flair from the outset. When Bolt crossed the finish line, the fans erupted. Flags waved, flashbulbs popped, and cheers rang out far into the New York City night. Many would surely be hoarse for days.

After a false start, Bolt got out fast, and the 6-foot- 5-inch Jamaican steadily increased his lead over Gay in the middle meters of the race. Both were pushed along by a tailwind of 1.7 meters per second. Although Gay held steady in the last 20 meters, his time of 9.85 seconds only 1/100th of a second off his personal best, Bolt was well clear. "I was pretty confident coming in here," he said afterward.

"Right now, it's hats off to Bolt," said Gay, who returned to the track during Bolt's victory celebration to congratulate and embrace him. "Today was his day. It's great for the sport."

The 100-meter mark is the second World Record in the event's short history. Two years ago, Ethiopia's Meseret Defar set a 5000-meter mark - also in the last event of the program.

Bolt's was not the only big Jamaican win of the night. In the women's 100 meters, Veronica Campbell-Brown won in 10.91 seconds, the fastest time in the world this year. Finishing second in a big personal best was American Marshevet Hooker, in 10.94. In another record-setting performance, Kenya's Paul Koech turned in the fastest time ever run in the United States with his 8:01.85 victory in the 3000-meter steeplechase, while Kenyan Shadrack Kosgei outleaned Ethiopia's Ali Abdosh for the 5000-meter win, 13:14.46 to 13:14.50, in a thrilling sprint finish.Later, pole vaulter Jenn Stuczynski, who last year set an American Record here, this year took three attempts at the World Record after defending her title.

All contributed to an evening that was as electric on the track as it was in the sky.