Mere seconds after Usain Bolt sped to a new world record to claim the gold medal in the 100-metre finals at the World Championships in Berlin, the cyberworld erupted into a frenzy with bloggers and Facebook users all accross the world sending out their own unique congratulations.

Congratulations and big-ups were sent to both Bolt and Asafa Powell who clocked 9.84 on his way to third place, fulfilling the expectations of many and silencing the naysayers. Just minutes after the men crossed the line, video footage of the historic race was uploaded to popular video site, YouTube.

flooding popular website

Jamaicans at home and abroad, flooded the popular website Facebookwith comments. One user said, "and for 9.58 seconds the world focused on a tiny country named Jamaica and one boy, now man, from a little community named Sherwood Content." Another wrote, "The fastest human being ever ... yam ago well expensive fi buy now ... ." Yet another shared, "Usain Bolt is POETRY IN MOTION ... BAP BAP!!! Good going Asafa ... proud of you."

Jamaicans living overseas, who did not have the privilege of watching history unfold with up-to-the-minute coverage on local television, turned to the Internet and other means of technology to view the races.

Christin, a Jamaican living in The Cayman Islands, told THE STAR the lengths she went to just to ensure that she was able to see the race. "Yesterday I was so depressed cause I couldn't see a thing. I had to check Facebook for updates and use off mi credit to call people. I didn't see any of the races yesterday. I was so upset, I almost bought a ticket to come back to my yard. Anyway, I signed up for Jump TV, but it wasn't working, so I came to work, happily by the way, and did it here. And I got an Internet link and watched it on that."

Though it cost her US $7.95 to sign up, she doesn't mind. She said, "I got to watch my race and I enjoyed it." But watching via the Internet, she admitted, can in no way come close to being at home. "I was the only Jamaican at my workplace, so it was no fun, but I brought my flag to work and warned them that I would be making a lot of noise. They were excited too, but to a lesser extent. I had no one to cheer with."

American Tyson Gay was second in the race, setting a new national record of 9.71 in the process.