Sports briefs

Appanaitis qualifies for NCAA meet

Senior thrower Inger Appanaitis of the University of Nevada women's track team qualified for the NCAA Championships with a third place finish in the javelin on Saturday at the NCAA West Regionals at Cal State Northridge.

The NCAA Championships will be held June 11-14 at the University of Iowa. Appanaitis finished third with a throw of 158 feet, seven inches. She was in second until the last round when Cal State Northridge's Stephanie Ralls moved into a second with a throw of 160-11.

Appanaitis holds the school record at 169-5 and won the Western Athletic Conference title earlier this year with a throw of 160-0.

Bolt sets world record in 100

NEW YORK " Like a bolt out of nowhere, Usain Bolt is now the world's fastest man.

The Jamaican runner, who doesn't even consider the 100 meters his best race, set the world record Saturday night with a time of 9.72 seconds at the Reebok Grand Prix, .02 seconds faster than the old record held by his countryman, Asafa Powell.

Bolt was using the 100 for "speed work" and to avoid having to run the more grueling 400, when, suddenly, he ran the world's second-fastest time last month at 9.76. Even then, he said he wasn't sure if he would give up the 400 meters for the 100 for the Beijing Olympics.

Hard to imagine he has any choice now.

Unfurling his lanky frame " listed at 6-foot-4, but probably more like 6-5 and, either way, considered too tall for this kind of speed work " he created a big-time gap between himself and Tyson Gay at about the halfway point, then routed him to the finish line.

Gay, the best sprinter in America, finished in 9.85. "He ran a perfect race," Gay said.

"I've got to take my hat off to him."