Usain Bolt shaved more than a tenth of a second off his 200-metre record, copying his performance from the 100 final. (Michael Steele/Getty Images)

Usain Bolt shattered another of his own world records on Thursday, running a blistering 19.19 seconds to win the men's 200 metres at the world championships in Berlin.

Exactly a year after capturing Olympic gold in 19.30, the rangy Jamaican burst out to an excellent start into a slight headwind in Lane 5 and blew away a fast but overmatched field.

"I was a little tired, but I decided, 'What the heck, let's just try,'" said Bolt, who also lowered his 100-metre mark by 0.11 in Sunday's gold-medal race.

Alsonso Edward of Panama finished second in 19.81 — a South American record but still a gaping 0.62 behind Bolt.

Wallace Spearmon of the U.S. got the bronze in a season-best 19.85, while American Shawn Crawford and Jamaican Steve Mullings missed the medal stand despite clocking in at under 20 seconds.

"Just coming out there, I'm just waiting for the lights to flash Game Over, cause I felt like I was in a video game," said Crawford, who was fourth. "That guy was moving — fast."

Bolt didn't have to contend with defending 200 world champion Tyson Gay. The American, who finished second in the 100 final, opted to rest a lingering groin injury in hopes of contributing to the U.S. 4x100 relay team.

Bolt has taken a sledgehammer to Michael Johnson's once-iconic standard of 19.32 set at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. And the gregarious Jamaican, who only turns 23 on Friday, may not be done breaking records.

While he wouldn't guess how low he can take his 100 time, Bolt suggested he hasn't yet reached the boundaries of human potential.

"I think 9.4 is the limit," Bolt said. "I don't know if I can do it."

But, he added, "Anything is possible."

Bekele making push for 5,000

Earlier, Yusuf Saad Kamel of Bahrain and Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia started their chase for their own doubles. After winning the 10,000 on Monday, Bekele was dominant again and crossed first in his heat of the 5,000.

The Ethiopian great won a long-distance double at the Beijing Olympics. Two golds in Berlin would establish him as perhaps Africa's greatest distance runner.

Competing on two hours of sleep, Kamel followed his victory in the 1,500 late Wednesday with a win and easy qualification for the semifinals in the 800.

"I did not sleep last night, because I was very excited," said the Kenyan-born Bahrain, the son of two-time 800 world champion Billy Konchellah.