Olympic Newsdesk -- Lightning Bolt; IAAF Gender Quest; Harbin Winter Olympics

Usain Bolt Scorches in Berlin

Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt is on his way to legendary status in the world of athletics after a record-setting 200m performance in Berlin Thursday.

Days after shattering the 100m record, he set a new best of 19.19, beating his previous world record of 19.30 set at the Beijing Olympics.

After destroying the rest of the field, Bolt said "maybe next time I should just run the 200m or the 100m alone. My form was going backwards. I wasn't running upright. It wasn't a good race but it was a fast one."

"I can definitely say I didn't expect that because I was a little bit tired," he added.

Edward Alonso of Panama finished a distant second behind Bolt, running 19.81, with American Wallace Spearmon claiming the last podium spot with a time of 19.85.

The night was not a complete success for Bolt however. He lost his first race of the world championships when he took part in a mock race with the mascot of the world championships, Berlino, after his victory lap.

Immediately following the 200m final, there was more joy in the Caribbean. Ryan Brathwaite of Barbados ran a time of 13.14 in the 110m hurdles to claim the country’s first world title in athletics.

Paula Radcliffe withdrew from the marathon on Thursday, saying her foot has not fully recovered from surgery on March.

Semenya Receives Gold While Gender Doubts Linger

One day after IAAF officials whisked her off the track before completing her victory lap, Caster Semenya returned to Olympic Stadium in Berlin for her victory ceremony.

The crowd in the nearly full stadium applauded and no booing could be heard despite Semenya's status as the most controversial athlete of the 12th IAAF World Championships. '

Suspicions were already raised about whether or not the 18-year-old South African is really female before she arrived in Berlin. She is undergoing gender verification tests conducted by various specialists in South Africa and Berlin, including an endocrinologist. Semenya's time of 1:56.72 at the African junior championships in late July was such a huge drop from her best of 2:04.23 in 2008 that it raised eyebrows.

"There is doubt about the fact that this person is a lady," IAAF general secretary Pierre Weiss said. "All of the doctors we have contacted have told us that this type of investigation takes days and even weeks before it can come to a conclusion."

However, Weiss said that if Semenya proves to be male, "we will withdraw her name form the results of the competition today, but today there is no proof. The benefit of the doubt has always been in the favor of the athletes."

IAAF officials, after consultation with the South African federation decided not to allow Semenya to meet the press.

"She is young," he said. "and it was obvious to us, and we hope you understand, she is not prepared to reply to the questions which you are totally entitled to ask."

Semenya gave a mixed-zone interview after her semifinal , which has been posted on YouTube. In the clip, Semenya has a deep voice.

The IAAF was unable to prevail upon South Africa to withdraw Semenya's entry and Weiss said there was no way to settle the issue before the meet began.

"She was unknown three weeks ago," he said. "We are fast, but we are not a lightning."

Semenya's relatives scoffed at speculation that she is not female.

"She is my little girl," Semenya's father, Jacob, told the Sowetan newspaper. "I raised her and I have never doubted her gender. She is a woman and I can repeat that a million times."

Semenya's paternal grandmother, Maputhi Sekgala, was equally emphatic and said the controversy doesn't bother her because she knows her granddaughter is a woman.

"What can I do when they call her a man, when she's really not a man?" Sekgala told the South African daily The Times. " It is God who made her look that way."

Chinese Officials to Evaluate Harbin Bid

China’s top sports officials will evaluate the viability of Harbin’s bid for the 2018 Summer Olympics in a visit to the city this weekend.

The approval of China’s State General Administration of Sports is all Harbin is waiting for as it prepares to make its second bid for the Winter Games. Harbin fell short in a bid for the 2014 Games.

“Representatives from the administration will arrive in Harbin in a couple of days and evaluate the feasibility of the bid with local officials,” the official told China Daily.

Chinese Olympic Committee president Liu Peng has expressed reservations about bidding for the 2018 Games, telling Around the Rings two weeks ago that a Chinese bid would face strong competition. Pyeonchang, South Korea, Munich, Germany and Annecy, France are the only declared candidates so far.

The IOC began the bid process for the 2018 Winter Games last month. China has until Oct. 15 to submit the name of a bidding city to the IOC.

Written by Ed Hula, Karen Rosen and Greg Oshust.