BEIJING—Some call him Flash Gordon. But the man himself says, no way, he is simply Lightning Bolt.

Others disagree. They think he is Superman 2.

On the eve of his 22nd birthday, one full of historic hyperbole, Jamaica’s Usain Bolt made the Olympics even more magical on Wednesday when he became the first man to win the Olympic sprint double with two world records, blazing to the 200-meter gold in 19.30 seconds.

Bolt won by the biggest margin since the 200 came on the Olympic scene 108 years ago. In a sport dominated by hundreds of seconds, he beat the field by two-thirds of a second.

“Everything came together tonight and I just blew my mind and blew the world’s mind,” he said after his blistering run.

Already well ahead coming off a tight bend that was supposed to be his only challenge, the Jamaican didn’t coast for the first time in the Games and bettered the world record of American Michael Johnson—one that even the track great considered still out of reach.

“He is Superman 2,” Johnson said on the BBC after he saw his record fall.

‘My name is Lighting Bolt’

Bolt preferred to be known by another name.

“I’m Lightning Bolt. I’m not Flash Gordon or anybody,” he said. “My name is Lightning Bolt.”

If swimming had Michael Phelps, track has Usain Bolt and the Games are so much the better for it.

Not even Jesse Owens

Bolt emulated the world record he set in the 100.

It also made Bolt the ninth man to complete the Olympic double and the first since Carl Lewis in 1984, but he was the first to take both races with world records. Not even Lewis or Jesse Owens could do that.

For a small nation of just 2.7 million people that has major crime and poverty problems—UN figures show it has one of the highest murder rates in the world—many of its citizens hoped the joyous unity triggered by Bolt would inspire a better future.

With his time of 19.30 seconds, Bolt not only sliced .02 off the mark dating to the 1996 Atlanta Games. Incredibly, he cut his personal best by a massive .37.

A virtual unknown

All too far behind him, defending champion Shawn Crawford went from fourth to taking silver in 19.96 after both Churandy Martina of the Netherlands Antilles, the original runner-up, and Wallace Spearmon were disqualified for running out their lanes. A second American, Walter Dix, got bronze.

Never letting up, Bolt dipped at the finish line and once he saw the record was gone, he fell to the track, his giant legs and arms pointing every which way.

All from a man that was a virtual unknown outside his Caribbean island nation ahead of this season.

He had coasted to a world record of 9.69 in the 100 on Saturday but had promised to keep on running this time, knowing Johnson’s record was one of the most exalted in the sport.

No showboating

Clearly, the Bird’s Nest belonged to the super-cool Bolt.

He struck a series of poses as the television cameras settled on him before he took to his blocks but again he got away cleanly and was well clear of his rivals by the halfway point.

There was no showboating over the final stages, however, and he maintained his form and loping stride before sneaking a glance at the clock as he crossed the line about seven meters clear of Martina.

Fooling, frolicking

But nothing is beyond this dangly carefree Jamaican—despite an Olympic diet of chicken nuggets.

Less than an hour before his oversized performance, he was fooling and frolicking with his coach in the stadium tunnel, all grins and banter.

While others pumped themselves up with screams of encouragement, slapping their faces to get the adrenaline going, there was nothing like a joke for Bolt.

Playing to crowd, he was smoothing his closely cropped pate, wiped those imaginary drops of tension from his brow before beating his yellow shirt again, and ready he was.

It was unlike anything seen in the sport.

Incredible start

“He got an incredible start. I just went ‘Wow,”’ said Johnson, a man known for his calm composure. “It was a much more amazing start than he got in the 100 meters and then his turn was just absolutely fabulous.”

Starting in lane 4, he always had a good view of American rivals Dix and Spearmon at the outside lanes. Crawford was just inside the towering Jamaican. It was all irrelevant.

“It’s ridiculous,” said former 100 meters world champion Kim Collins, who finished last. “He’s doing it and making it look so simple. It’s brutal. It’s a brutal ass-whipping we took.”

Bolt’s adventure in Beijing takes another step on Friday when the Jamaican sprinter leads his 4x100-meter relay team at the Bird’s Nest.