The Viewer Track survey of the most-watched TV sporting events of 2009, suggests that not far off 100 million people saw the men’s 100 metres final at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin, in which the Jamaican sprinter lowered the world record to an other-worldly 9.58 secs.

Not only was this far above the 70 million total audience that watched the equivalent event in 2007 in Osaka, but it took the event to within striking distance of the top three sporting spectacles of the year.

These were: football’s European Cup final between Barcelona and Manchester United, with an average audience of 109 million and a total audience of 206 million; Super Bowl XLIII between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals (106 million and 162 million); and Formula One’s Bahrain Grand Prix (54 million and 115 million).

Though the average audience for Bolt’s latest big victory was "only" 33 million, Initiative Futures Sport + Entertainment, the consultancy behind the survey, explains that this was the figure for the entire programme in which the race appeared.

Given that the men’s 100m was by far the biggest draw in that portion of the Championships, and given the short duration of the event, it seems logical to conclude that the number who watched the race itself was far closer to the 95 million total audience figure.

Another gauge of the “Bolt effect” is that in 2007, the men’s 100m was neck-and-neck for viewers with baseball’s World Series.

Both events attracted an average audience of 24 million viewers, while the baseball edged ahead on the total audience measure (72 million versus 70 million).

In 2009, by contrast, the man from Trelawny left the knuckle-ballers and home-run hitters far behind, outstripping them by seven million on average audience and 23 million on total audience.

It is not just the long-striding Jamaican’s track rivals who are at present eating his dust and the athletics business should be very thankful.

The next challenge: stop people switching off after Bolt’s flamboyant victory lap.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]