Allyson Felix captures long-awaited individual gold

No more heartbreak for Allyson Felix. No more silver, either.

Denied twice on the world's biggest stage, Felix won the Olympic gold medal she's been yearning for, taking the 200 meters Wednesday night to fill the last, and biggest, hole in her otherwise stellar resume.

Felix won the race in 21.88 seconds, topping Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who won the 100 four nights earlier, by .21 seconds. American Carmelita Jeter added bronze to go with her silver in the 100 meters.

One more spot back was Jamaica's Veronica Campbell-Brown, who defeated Felix in the Athens and Beijing Games and was trying to become the first woman to win the same individual track and field event in three consecutive Olympics.

Instead, the Americans were the ones celebrating three straight, their own 15 minutes of fame: Felix, followed quickly by Aries Merritt in the 110 hurdles and Brittney Reese in the long jump.

"Track and field is the best sport for Americans," said Jason Richardson, who finished second to Merritt in the hurdles as part of a seven-medal day at the track for the United States. "We are always aware of what the medal count is. I know track and field can close that, let the world know the Americans are the best track and field country."

Felix won easily, leaving nothing to chance — or a coin flip — as she burst ahead of Fraser-Pryce with 40 meters to go.

It was the third-place tie in 100-meter qualifying at U.S. trials earlier this summer that hovered over Felix's run-up to these Olympics — forcing her to defend herself off the track for the first time in an otherwise-pristine career.

Her tie with Jeneba Tarmoh for the third and final spot in the 100 forced USA Track and Field officials to scramble for a solution. One possibility was a coin flip; instead, they settled on a run-off. But Tarmoh begged off. Felix, never a serious medal contender for the 100, had to defend her decision not to give up the spot, and she went on to finish fifth.

The three heats in the Olympic 100, she said, were the perfect tuneup for the race she really wanted to win.

"Everyone just expected me to give up this spot, because I think lots of people ... know me and they know that I'm seen as this very nice girl," Felix said with a chuckle a few days before the start of track and field in London. "But it's not just about me."

On this night, though, it was.

Twice before, Felix came into the Olympics on even footing, or even a slight favorite, against Campbell-Brown. Both times, the American ended up disappointed — and the last time in Beijing, choking back tears, she called it "deja vu, and not in a good way."

This time, there would be no regrets.

On a calm, cloudless evening in London, Felix broke out of Lane 7, hugged the line on the curve and found herself slightly behind Fraser-Pryce as they rounded into the straightaway with about 60 meters to go. That, however, is when Felix — not the 100-meter champion — kicked it into another gear, drawing even and then pulling away.

She adds this gold to the two individual silvers and one 4x400 relay gold from the 2008 Olympics. She's a six-time national champion at 200, a three-time world champion and — in a sport that has nearly buried itself in the United States under the weight of doping scandals and performances that seem too good to be true — she's the athlete who has consistently stood out as a smiling, trustworthy exception.

She put at least a brief stop to Jamaica's relentlessness in these Olympic sprints. Before the Felix victory, Jamaica had won seven of the last eight Olympic sprints, including relays.

Bolt going for historic double

Usain Bolt is one victory away from becoming the first man to repeat as double Olympic sprint champion and reaching his ambition of becoming a "living legend" after he qualified for the 200 metre final.

On a balmy, clear Wednesday night, Bolt joked as he got into the blocks, laughed when as he crouched into the blocks and then sped away for a controlled race which he finished by almost jogging across the line. His win exuded as much confidence as his victory in the 100 on Sunday.

This time, too, everything is set for a direct duel with his training partner Yohan Blake, the silver medallist in the 100.

The 100 should have been the tough part for Bolt where his starting jitters have been an issue. The 200 is his preferred distance and it showed. He made a military-style salute when he was announced to the crowd, reggae music blaring in the background. After his race, he applauded another capacity crowd of 80,000 at the Olympic Stadium.

Wallace Spearmon was the only American through to the final, and France's Christophe Lemaitre also advanced.

There is even talk of a Jamaican sweep, but Bolt had his doubts. "It's going to be hard. As you can see, Yohan is ready. Wallace Spearmon is there."

"There's a lot of people there, who have come to spoil the party, "Bolt said. "So we'll see."

Blake had the fastest time with 20.01 seconds, compared with 20.18 for Bolt.

"It's the 200 metres and we are both full speed tomorrow," Blake said. "Anything can happen."

Canada's Aaron Brown of Toronto and Jared Connaughton, the native of New Haven, P.E.I., did not make the final. Brown did set a personal best of 20.42, while Connaughton finished in 20.64.

"My nerves were good after running well in the heat, I was much more relaxed," Brown said. "It was great chasing Usain Bolt, it pulled me to a personal best. I mean I'm still fighting it and I look up and he's already shutting it down. It's crazy, but that's why he's the best in the world."

After Thursday's 200 final, Bolt still has the weekend relays coming up and even before his race Wednesday, he already was practicing the baton handoff with Blake, determined to get another trio of gold medals as he did at the 2008 Beijing Games.

It would be uncharted territory. Carl Lewis won the 100-200 double in 1984 but finished with silver in the 200 behind fellow-American Joe DeLoach in Seoul four years later. He won relay gold at the 1984 Los Angeles Games but the U.S. team failed to win a medal in 1988.

Americans Merritt, Richardson claim gold, silver in men's 110m hurdles

Aries Merritt led a 1-2 finish for the United States in the Olympic 110m hurdles, winning in 12.92 seconds Wednesday night. Defending champion Dayron Robles of Cuba pulled up midway through and clutched his right hamstring.

Jason Richardson, the world champion, was second in 13.04. Hansle Parchment of Jamaica took the bronze in 13.12.

Robles, the world-record holder, began limping early and came to a stop after clearing the sixth hurdle, then shoved another barrier down to the track.

The 2004 Olympic champion, Liu Xiang of China, got injured in the first round of qualifying and stopped before reaching the first hurdle.

U.S. earns gold, bronze in long jump final

Brittney Reese won the long jump at the London Games on Wednesday night, becoming only the second U.S. woman to win the event at the Olympics.

The two-time world champion went into the competition with the best jump of the season and put down the best mark in the final with 7.12 metres on her second attempt. She is first U.S. woman to win the Olympic long jump since Jackie Joyner-Kersee in 1988.

Russia's Elena Sokolova took the silver medal with a best jump of 7.07 metres, and Janay Deloach earned the bronze for the United States at 6.89.

Russia's Antyukh hangs on for gold in 400m hurdles

Russia's Natalya Antyukh held off American Lashinda Demus to claim gold in the women's 400m hurdles final.

Antyukh ran a personal-best time of 52.70 seconds. Demus had a strong finish but could not pass the Russian, finishing in 52.77.

Hejnova Zuzana of Czech Republic won bronze in the event with a time of 53.38.