Usain Bolt insists only his showboating in the Olympic 100 metres final last summer prevented him from running much quicker.

Despite his antics in one of track and field's greatest ever moments, Bolt lowered his world record to a phenomenal 9.69seconds with a blistering display of speed in the Bird's Nest stadium.

The 22-year-old Jamaican, well clear of his rivals and with the gold medal in his pocket, amazed spectators when he began early celebrations 20 metres from the finish line.

Acknowledging their appreciation of his awesome display he began looking sideways into the stadium, holding out his arms and then slapping his heart with his right hand.

The gesture was warmly received by the fans but International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge was dismayed and criticised his crowd-pleasing antics.

Bolt, who today competes at the Bupa Great CityGames in Manchester, is however adamant he has no intention of changing his now established celebratory act.

But he admitted if he had kept his head down and concentrated for the full distance in Beijing he would have struck an even bigger margin from his previous record of 9.72sec.

Bolt - who will race in the innovative Manchester 150m street sprint tomorrow - when asked what he could have ran, said: "Maybe 9.56sec."

That forecast will send shivers down the spines of his main rivals in the build-up to this August's World Championships in Berlin, which is his major target for the year.

Bolt was declared fit to compete in Manchester just over a fortnight after crashing his car in wet conditions and requiring minor surgery for foot injuries, and insists he is recovered from the frightening experience.

Now the Beijing 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay gold medallist is determined to make up for lost time and sharpen himself up with several testing races on the European circuit.

"I'm getting there, I'm a little bit off but I think I'll get there by Berlin and that's the main aim," he said.

"I'm focusing on just one thing and that's the World Championships and living up to my expectations.

"I was off for a week but now I'm back in training and good and trying to get back into shape for more races in Europe."

He admitted: "If I want to stay where I am at, it is going to take a lot of work.

"Asafa (Powell) wants the world record back and there are a lot of people out there who want the world record.

"I want to be a legend and I have to keep working and that is what keeps me going.

"It means the World Championship this year, keep winning the Olympics, keep breaking the records - that is going to make me a legend."

Bolt's visit has allowed him to meet the Manchester United players and tomorrow night he will present the club's Player of the Year trophy.

"Sir Alex (Ferguson, the United manager) has done a great job with these guys," said the Red Devils fan who spent 90 minutes amongst his football idols at their training ground yesterday.

"It's all about teamwork and these guys enjoy being together - that's the key.

"They really enjoy each other and you can see they are great friends just by watching them."

Bolt, supporting the idea of taking athletics onto the streets, said: "It's unique, something new for the sport and it will help attract youngsters into athletics."

The world's fastest man, added: "I like to please the crowd and show them the person I am. I'm just going to go out there and have some fun with the crowd and perform to the best of my ability.

"It's going to be wonderful. I like mixing with the crowd and when I'm warming up they're going to be right there which will be interesting.

"Sport is fun for me and everything you do should reflect this."