Usain Bolt is clowning over there in Beijing:

The dramatic ascendance of Usain Bolt as the world’s greatest sprinter continued Wednesday night at the Beijing Olympics as he left another group of elite runners far behind in setting a world record in the 200 meters and winning his second gold medal. Having obliterated the world record in the 100 on Saturday, he is the first man to win both the 100 and 200 at the same Olympics since Carl Lewis in 1984. Starting in Lane 5, Bolt took the lead in the first 50 meters and won in devastating fashion, pulling away from the field and winning by several meters in a time of 19.30. Michael Johnson had held the record of 19.32, set in 1996 at the Atlanta Games.

Churandy Martina of the Netherlands Antilles won the silver. Wallace Spearmon of the United States finished third, but as he began a victory lap while draped in an American flag, he learned that he had been disqualified for stepping into the lane of his teammate Walter Dix. Shawn Crawford, also of the United States, ended up with the bronze.

Bolt, 21, delivered an encore Wednesday. He entered the race owning the three fastest 200 times this season, and in the semifinals on Tuesday he appeared to be holding back yet still finished first, in 20.09. Except for Johnson in 1996, no other runner had ever run faster than 19.62. Bolt’s previous best was 19.67.