HEARTS RACING

Three-time Olympic gold medalist Usain St. Leo Bolt has shattered many records.

He broke two more Saturday at the 116th annual Penn Relays - attracting a record attendance of 54,310 at Franklin Field for a single day, which then helped set a record for the three-day annual event at 117,346 spectators.

Many in the venerable, 52,600-seat stadium stood, screamed, clapped, and filmed the human with godlike speed. Some, like Marvin Stephenson of Philadelphia, a native of Jamaica, could barely contain their emotion.

"Fantastic. It doesn't get much better than this," said the 40-year-old real estate investor, pointing his Sony camera at the far left end of the field as fellow Jamaican and international superstar Bolt was introduced for Team Jamaica Gold in the 4x100-meter relay race.

Striding onto the track at Franklin Field, where he ran as a high schooler, the tall, muscular sprinter was described by the public address announcer as "the fastest man in the world, Olympic gold medalist and world record holder Usain Bolt."

At 23 years of age, he holds the world record for 100 meters, 200 meters, and, along with his teammates, the 4x100-meter relay. He ran the anchor leg for Team Jamaica Gold - and he didn't disappoint.

In dramatic, heart-pounding fashion, Team Jamaica Gold finished first, setting a new Penn Relays record with a time of 37.90 seconds, and beating out Team USA Blue, which came in second at 38.33 seconds.

While there are no official splits in a 4x100-meter relay, one watch had Bolt's split at 8.79 seconds - which drew loud applause.

Each year the Penn Relays showcases the top high school track and field athletes, from the United States, Jamaica, and Caribbean nations to American collegiate coaches.

Saturday was a return visit for Bolt. At the 2003 Penn Relays, he ran the second leg on the William Knibb High School team from Jamaica that won the small schools consolation 400-meter race. He also ran USA vs. the World races in 2004 and 2005 at Franklin Field.

After his race Saturday, Bolt took a victory lap around the stadium trailed by a phalanx of TV cameras and reporters. He waved to the crowd and blew kisses.

"Oh, my God! I can't explain it," said Adrienne Blount, 23, a Jamaican from Brooklyn, who drove down with her aunt to watch Bolt and cheer for the Wolmer's Boys School in Jamaica.

As Bolt bowed to the crowd, her eyes welled with tears.

"Your heart beats a little faster," said Blount, who was dressed in a yellow and green T-shirt and matching cap with the words Jamaica, It skips a beat.

"He [Bolt] put us on the map with track and field. The United States sees us as a rival now because of what he did in the Olympics," she said.

In 2008, Bolt became the first man to win three sprinting events at a single Summer Olympics since Carl Lewis in 1984, and the first man to set world records in all three at a single Olympics. In 2009, he became the first man to hold the 100- and 200-meter world and Olympic titles at the same time.

At a news conference after his race Saturday, Bolt joked that he was still getting accustomed to being a celebrity.

"For the last two years, I've been surprised by the number of people who know me," he said at the James D. Dunning Jr. Coaches' Center. "I'm still getting used to that."

Franklin Field was awash in yellow, green, and black - the Jamaican flag's colors.

Stephenson, the real estate investor from Philadelphia, sat among three rows of fellow Jamaicans from Philly and New York who sported their nation's colors through flags, headbands, T-shirts, towels, beaded wristbands, yellow balloons, and other paraphernalia.

"Jamaica! Jamaica!" they screamed, as Jamaican track and field runners shone in their respective events throughout the day.

But the noise level went off the charts just before 3 p.m., when the human lightning bolt got into position, setting off a frenzy.

David Johnson, director of the Penn Relays, said afterward he had never heard the stadium as loud as it was before Bolt's 4x100-meter race.

Twice, the announcer asked the crowd to quiet down so the runners could hear the gun - a first at the Penn Relays.

Johnson said he was just as stunned by the 54,310 in attendance Saturday to see Bolt and the three-day record of 117,346 since the relays kicked off on Thursday.

"It is amazing to hear those results," Johnson said. "We do all we can every year to have the best event, and with Bolt bringing in such a large crowd, it was a really special event."

There was no mistaking his draw. Under a tent that sold Penn Relays merchandise outside the stadium, including sweatshirts and jackets, the buzz was all about Bolt.

"It was awesome," said 16-year old Nick Dye, who ran for Germantown Friends School at the relays, of Bolt's performance.