Betting Surge Reported After Bolt's 100m Win

Bolt's impressive displays "caught the public's imagination" in terms of betting activity, a gambling industry figure has suggested.

Usain Bolt's world-record run of 9.69 seconds in the 100 metres Olympic final this month had a noticeable effect on the gambling industry, it has emerged.

Apparently, there was a lot of money put on the Jamaican to become the 200 metres champion after punters saw him comfortably win the gold medal at the shorter distance.

These comments come from Charlie McCann, head of public relations at Betdirect and Stan James, who also stated that bookies - including online gambling firms - saw "unprecedented" betting activity during the course of the Games in China.

Regarding 2012, when London will host the Olympics, Mr McCann added: "It would be interesting to see the betting on the success of the British people.

"We've not got markets on the likes of [diver] Tom Daley to get a medal in 2012 but it is the sort of thing we are considering."

Daley reached the final of the ten-metre diving competition at this year's Games, finishing seventh overall.