A Jamaican sprinter makes Olympic history in Beijing

Winning by a full four body-lengths over American defending champ Shawn Crawford, Jamaica’s Usain Bolt made Olympic history Wednesday. Bolt became the first-ever sprinter to break world records and win gold medals in both the 100- and 200-meter races during one Olympics. “I blew my mind and I blew the world’s mind,” Bolt says. His 19.30 seconds in the 200 made him the first man since Carl Lewis to sweep gold medals from both sprints. Lewis did so in 1984. Bolt also beat Michael Johnson’s 12-year-old record of 19.32 seconds. Not even Olympics legend Jesse Owens completed a 100, 200 sweep. Get the latest on how the Americans did and more at BET.com/Olympics ‘08.

Togo gets its first Olympic medal ever

Togo, a country in West Africa, recently won its first medal ever in an Olympic event, reports the BBC. Benjamin Boukpeti (above) took home the bronze medal in the men’s single kayak slalom in Beijing. He was so excited about the win that he broke his paddle in half. “I can hardly believe it, but I’m not surprised,” he said. Aside from earning his nation’s first Olympic medal, Boukpeti also became the first male kayaker to win an Olympic slalom medal who is not European. After the race he hugged and kissed his parents (his mother is French, his father Togolese). Alexander Grimm, from Germany, won gold and France’s Fabien Lefevre – who was originally picked to win it all – won silver. But the day belonged to Boukpeti. “This is unexpected; it is a good surprise for Togo. It is more than a beautiful surprise because many Togolese are not aware of this sport’s discipline,” said Cornelius Aidam, Togo’s minister for communication, culture and civic education.

Food shortage is affecting thousands in northern Kenya. A critical food shortage in northern Kenya is leaving tens of thousands at risk, reports the Integrated Regional Information Networks. Affected are areas in Baringo and East Pokot, which are in Kenya’s north Rift, according to a charity official. “There is an acute food shortage and the situation has been rated as alarming,” said Anthony Mwangi, the public relations manager with Kenya’s Red Cross Society (KRCS). Skyrocketing food prices, as well as a lack of rain leading, are to blame for the food crisis. In addition, the nation’s livestock is not selling as well as it used to due to the poor health of the animals. “The livestock are in poor condition and are fetching low prices in the markets,” he said. The shortage is affecting almost 100,000 thousand people in total (at least 64,000 in East Pokot and 32,000 in Baringo). During the shortage many youths (at least 5 percent) have been missing school. “They are staying behind to support their parents,” Mwangi said. Some starving residents have had to eat wild fruits and rodents. The Kenya Red Cross Society has stepped in to help, distributing 1,246 tons of food and food materials to those affected, Mwangi said.

Fighter’s dream of medal cut short by dehydration. A bantamweight Olympics boxer won’t compete after he collapsed from apparent dehydration while still training. Gary Russell Jr. is said to have struggled to make the 119-pound weight limit to compete for a gold medal, but was found unconscious this past weekend in China after taking a long run. The two-time national champ was found in his room at the Olympics athlete’s village, but he was revived without hospitalization. “We became alarmed a couple of days ago when we saw he wasn’t sweating like he should,” says boxing coach Dan Campbell. “When these kids try to make weight, sometimes they cut corners. What we believe is he did not increase his fluid intake after we told him to.” Russell was a favorite to win the U.S. boxing team a top Olympics prize

NBA stars drop China 101-70 in Olympics. All-star NBA players Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant and Yao Ming met on Asian turf with Ming representing his homeland of China in an Olympics game that saw the U.S. win 101-70. Still, Ming enjoyed a hero’s welcome Sunday among the natives, an estimated 300 million of whom play basketball. Wade scored 19 points, LeBron James hit 18 and Bryant matched Ming’s total with 13. The game in Beijing was the first time that any of the NBA stars played against Yao since March when he underwent season-ending foot surgery. Read more at Playa Hater.

Tyson Gay “pretty confident” about Olympics. Sprinter Tyson Gay says he’s “injury-free” after working out in Beijing Sunday, having previously hurt his hamstring. The 100-meter and 200-meter world champ had injured the muscle during last month’s American Olympics trials. Gay had already qualified to compete in the 100 at Beijing, but suffered the hamstring mishap during the 200 trials. The runner says he’s “pretty confident” about his performance expectations for the 100-meter race for a gold medal.

Cops in ritzy N.Y. neighborhood chase Black kids away. A New York lawyer is screaming “racism” after police in the upscale Brooklyn community of Manhattan Beach told a group of Black teenagers to get out of the neighborhood. Gene Berardelli, a Brooklyn-based attorney, says that the group of teens was blocked by police on Friday. “Black kids were told get out of the neighborhood,” Berardelli said. “It was definitely a Black and White issue. Black teens were not welcome in Manhattan Beach and police, on behalf of the neighborhood, let them know that.” Police said that Friday was “cut day,” when students traditionally skip school, and the officers had good reason to turn the students away. “[They would] either be brought back to the track site for truancy, or brought back to the school where they belong. We can’t allow kids to cut out of school,” NYPD Lt. Fernando Villafan said. But, Berardelli countered, “There’s no way they couldn’t know they were cutting class because they didn’t ask to see their program cards. They didn’t bother to check anybody’s identification,” he said.

Atlanta’s ex-mayor convict duped prison officials to enter rehab. Former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell, who is serving a 30-month prison sentence for tax evasion, finagled his way into a drug program to lop 500 hours off his term. Somehow, according to recently unsealed court documents, Campbell was able to dupe officials at the U.S. Bureau of Prisons to bend their policy and allow him to enroll in the residential rehabilitation program. He earned a “certificate of completion” last December for his “effort toward his personal growth.” He was rewarded for completing the program by being transferred to a halfway house earlier this year and was all set for an early release. But federal prosecutors in Atlanta heard about it and immediately demanded that Campbell be re-evaluated. It didn’t take long after the prison administrator’s one-on-one with Campbell to revoke his certificate and put the former mayor back to the rear of the line for release. So, instead of collecting his property and strolling out of prison on June 23, Campbell will kick it at the low-security facility near Miami until Oct. 25. Campbell ’s lawyer, Patricia Jean Kyle of Miami , told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that it initially seemed as if the Bureau of Prisons overstepped its authority in rescinding Campbell ’s early release. “Ultimately, Mr. Campbell agreed that the [bureau] had not acted beyond its authority” and then dismissed his complaint, she said.

Dr. Ben Carson to add Presidential Medal of Freedom to achievements. The man who made medical history by successfully separating Siamese twins in 1987 will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Dr. Ben Carson’s selection for the nation’s highest official civilian honor was announced by the White House this week. Carson, author of the book Gifted Hands, overcame a disadvantaged upbringing in Detroit to earn the title of Pediatric Neurosurgery director at Johns Hopkins Hospital by age 33. Carson recently delivered the commencement address at George Washington University.