Updated

Usain Bolt defended his gold medal at the Summer Olympics in the men's 200 meters Thursday night, winning in a time of 19.32 seconds. He becomes not only the first ever to win the 200m at back-to-back Games, but also the first to win both the 100m and 200m in consecutive Olympics, firmly cementing his legacy as one of the greatest sprinters the world has ever seen.

Yohan Blake -- who beat Bolt in the 200m at Jamaica's Olympic team trials -- won the silver medal, finishing in 19.44 seconds, his second-fast time ever run. It was also the fastest losing time in history. Warren Weir was third, making it a podium sweep for Jamaica. It's the first time any country other than the United States has swept the 200m.

Wallace Spearmon, the lone American in the race, was fourth, running a 19.90.

It was billed as the Lightning Bolt versus The Beast, and indeed it was, as the 0.12-second margin of victory -- and Bolt's constant glances over to where Blake was in relation to him -- showed. But in the end, it was all Bolt, again.

Bolt separated himself from the field almost immediately and already had a big lead as they made their town for the homestretch. Blake, however, did what maybe no other human being can do -- he closed the gap on Bolt, and made it at least somewhat interesting over the final 30 meters. But, like every other human being, Blake was simply not fast enough, allowing Bolt to be Bolt as he crossed the finish line -- in the photo-finish shot, he already has his finger to his lips.

(Photo by Omega via Getty Images)

Bolt's winning time was 0.02 seconds slower than what he won with in Beijing, but 0.08 faster than the 2011 World Championships.

For more on the Olympics, check out SB Nation's London 2012 Olympics Hub.