Coach not sure Bolt's ready for sprint double

[Sir X]

<H1>Coach not sure Bolt's ready for sprint double






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LONDON (AP) -Usain Bolt's coach is worried that going for the sprint double at the Beijing Olympics could hurt the 100-meter world record holder's chances of winning gold in his stronger race, the 200.
The Jamaican has said he wants to run in both, but is leaving the decision to coach Glen Mills.
"You have to ensure that you are not going into it just because there is a chance of glory, you have to go there knowing that your chance is solid,'' Mills said after Bolt's 200 victory in 19.76 seconds Saturday at the London Grand Prix. "I think he will get a medal in both, it's a question of winning.''
Bolt's 200 was the fastest ever run in Britain, and he beat Wallace Spearmon of the United States by more than half a second.
"I definitely want the double in Beijing, but my coach makes all my decisions for me,'' Bolt said. "I'm just waiting on him to decide. I'm definitely ready - I've been ready for two months now.
"People may try to pressure me, but I don't pressure myself because I look to do my best all the time.''
Mills winning gold in the 200 will be easier for Bolt, as Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay have more experience in the 100 at big events.
"The 200 is the easier race based on his performances so far - it's not as competitive as the 100,'' Mills said. "There's always the temptation to take what you are sure of. If you run the 100 you have to be consistent with your technique.''
The 21-year-old Bolt showed some of his inconsistency Tuesday, when his weak start at the DN Galan in Stockholm saw him lose to Powell by one-hundredth of a second.
"In the 100 meters you need to be an experienced person at this level,'' Mills said. "Things that happen to you like at Stockholm - getting left at the start and he just ... abandoned all strategy - that is the response of an inexperienced runner.
"The 100 we need to work out and master and we have 15 days to declare to the (Jamaican) association.''
Bolt embarked on the 100 to improve his speed in 200, but it "took off like a roller coaster'' after he set the world record of 9.72 on May 31, breaking Powell's mark of 9.74.
Bolt, who skipped Friday's 100 at Crystal Palace, said his confidence wasn't jolted by Tuesday's defeat and is ready to take on Powell and Gay.
"It's worth more to beat the best to become the best,'' he said.
Mills, who once coached doping-tainted British sprinter Dwain Chambers, said he thinks Bolt will never be tempted to enhance his performances with illegal substances.
"We can't shield him, he has to shield himself and we try to educate him on proper values,'' he said. "Most of the athletes who have got into trouble have gone abroad to train or go to school. ... We believe our athletes don't need it, we are talented enough.''



Athletics: Quickfire Bolt hammers out Beijing warning</H1>3 hours ago
LONDON (AFP) — Jamaica's Usain Bolt ran the second-fastest 200 metres in the world this year as he won the London Super Grand Prix event in a time of 19.76 seconds at Crystal Palace here Saturday.
The 21-year-old, who in May set a new 100m world record with a time of 9.72secs, finished well ahead of American Wallace Spearmon and Paul Hession of Ireland.
Bolt has still to confirm whether he will run in both sprint events at the Beijing Olympics and indicated yet again after Saturday's race he would leave the decision to his coach, Glen Mills.
"I'm still not sure about doubling up in Beijing," said Bolt. "I'm still waiting to see what's going on. My coach will make the decision.
"I'd definitely like to double - I think I could do well in both.
"But my coach hasn't made a bad decision in five years, so if he says I can do only one, I'll do one."
No-one has won both the men's 100m and 200m at the same Olympic Games since Carl Lewis of the United States in Los Angeles in 1984.
Meanwhile, Britain's Kelly Sotherton, one of the favourites for heptathlon gold in Beijing now that defending champions Carolina Kluft has decided to concentrate on the long jump and triple jump, came through a minor injury scare to win the four-event challenge.
Sotherton, 31, damaged her right abductor muscle on Friday's opening day when an extraordinary error by officials saw the third barrier in the 100m hurdles placed in the wrong position.
That first day, which had started so encouragingly for Sotherton with a long jump personal best of 6.79m, ended with the 2004 Olympic bronze medallist finishing fourth in the re-run hurdles.
But Saturday saw Sotherton come through both the shot put and the 200m where she finished second in a time of 23.63 secs despite not going at full pace.
"It was great to win this weekend," said Sotherton. "My jump was fantastic, the shot was good as well and despite not being able to run as hard as I normally would round the bend in the 200m because of an injury I picked up in the hurdles, I still got close to a season's best."
She added: "The hurdles yesterday (Friday) were obviously very frustrating. I hurt my abductor muscle jumping that third hurdle and it could have been really serious.
"My doctor and physio both told me not to run today (Saturday).
"But I wanted to run and to get that time when I couldn't go flat out is obviously encouraging. Overall I think the weekend has shown that I'm on the up and on course for Beijing."

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[Mosiah]

This is nonsense. If he is not strong enuff to run the double, then he is not ready for either one of those races.

Just games, I think. Need to keep the competition guessing. WIth Asafa it's fake injuries, with Bolt it's his strength or whatever.

[Assasin]

dem nah fool me, him a go run the two a dem. Nobody no gurantee Gold inna any even, you just go out deh and do your best.

You want tell me Mills feel good fi deny the youth the chance of glory.

[Sir X]

Top-ranking Jamaicans look good as gold

• <LI class=byline>Duncan Mackay at Crystal Palace <LI class=publication>The Observer,
• Sunday July 27 2008
• Article history

Usain Bolt cruises to victory in the 200m at Crystal Palace. Photograph: S Paston/Action

It is beginning to look as if the Bird's Nest Stadium in Beijing is going to be rocking to a reggae beat when it stages the track-and-field events in the Olympic Games next month. Less than 24 hours after Jamaica's Asafa Powell showed he will be the man to beat in the 100 metres with a comprehensive victory in the Aviva London Grand Prix, his compatriots Usain Bolt and Melaine Walker produced spectacular performances in the 200m and 400m hurdles respectively.
Cheered on by hundreds of expatriate Jamaicans in the 15,000 crowd, the 21-year-old Bolt lived up to his nickname of 'Lightning Bolt' as he ate up the track to win in 19.76sec, the fastest time for the distance ever recorded in Britain and one that only he has beaten this year. Even more remarkable was that he began easing up 20 metres from the line.
It was a breathtaking performance from a man who has the potential to be the sport's biggest star in the build-up to London 2012. With doubts beginning to grow over whether Tyson Gay, the American whose two-year-old UK all-comers record of 19.84 Bolt broke here, will be fit enough to compete in the Olympics, Bolt appears set to be Powell's biggest rival over the short distance in Beijing.
That is if Bolt's coach, Glen Mills, lets him run in the 100m. It sounds ridiculous, but the man who set a world record of 9.72 last month may be denied the opportunity of becoming the first man since Carl Lewis in 1984 to complete the 100m and 200m Olympic double.
'I'm still waiting to see what will be going on [with the option of running both 100m and 200m in Beijing]. My coach is making that decision maybe in a week or so,' Bolt said. 'I think I have a good chance of doing well in both.'
Mills's concern is that, by running in the 100m first - a distance, amazingly, that he is still not convinced Bolt should be doing - he may compromise his chances in the longer distance where he is still seeking his first major title, having finished second in the world championships in Osaka last year. Bolt's defeat by Powell in Stockholm last Tuesday will have only added to Mills's doubts. 'My coach hasn't made a bad decision in five years, so if he says I can do only one, I'll do one,' Bolt said.
It is an anomaly that despite all the sprint talent the Caribbean island has produced over the past 60 years, only three men have won individual Olympic gold medals wearing the famous yellow vest - Arthur Wint and George Rhoden in the 400m in 1948 and 1952, and Don Quarrie in the 200m in 1976 - but in Beijing, Powell and Bolt seem destined to give the country a proud moment.
Barring a disaster, Jamaica should also be celebrating its first Olympic gold medal in the 4x100m, as they are able to call on Nesta Carter, who has also broken 10 seconds this year, and Michael Frater, who is also ranked among the world's leading sprinters. Faced with such formidable opposition, it will need something special for Britain to defend the title they won in Athens four years ago.
Jamaica's women are also shaping up. Walker won the 400m hurdles in 54.22, easily beating America's Lashinda Demus, who is ranked top of the world this year, while Shelly-Ann Fraser can still be confident of winning the 100m despite being beaten here. The 21-year-old ran 10.95, but was still beaten by Veronica Campbell, who ran 10.87. She, though, has not been selected for the 100m after finishing fourth in the Jamaican trials, a race won by Fraser.
But the Olympic hopes of Allyson Felix are looking increasingly fragile after she withdrew from her 100m heat. It followed her disappointing performance the previous evening when she had finished fourth in the 200m, her first defeat over that distance for two years.
The 22-year-old American, who is due to be chasing three gold medals in Beijing, pulled out, claiming that she was 'sore', although it was unclear whether this was a physical or a mental problem. Whatever, it was an expensive decision as it saw her appearance fee halved to $15,000 (£7, 500).
At least there was better news of Britain's Kelly Sotherton, one of the favourites for the heptathlon gold medal in Beijing. She had woken up yesterday complaining of a 'niggle' in her right abductor muscle that she had blamed on the fiasco in the hurdles the previous evening, when officials had put the barriers in the wrong place. She had cast doubts over whether she would complete the four-event challenge specially set up to help her prepare for Beijing.
Sotherton believed it was the drop in temperature when they had to run the race again an hour later that had caused the problem. 'We had to wait around for so long, it was cold. That was the problem,' the Birchfield athlete said.
So there was a sense of relief that Sotherton completed the event by finishing second in the shot with a throw of 14.36m and then finish second in the 200m in 23.63 to claim the overall lead in the mini-heptathlon by 151 points.
The meeting ended on the perfect note for Britain when Martyn Rooney, a 21-year-old from Croydon, set a new personal best to win the 400m in 44.83.
The best British performance of the day came from Marilyn Okoro, a 23-year-old Londoner who ran away from the field in the 800m to win in a personal best of 1min 58.45, putting her fourth on the UK all-time list. 'I was expecting to run fast,' she said. 'All the training I did has paid off. I think I'm ready for Beijing.'
She is not the only one who is ready.

[Assasin]

Bwoy Melaine look like she a deliver at the right time. Beating Demus? that is a big one.

[Time]

Its tough

This is nonsense. If he is not strong enuff to run the double, then he is not ready for either one of those races.

Just games, I think. Need to keep the competition guessing. WIth Asafa it's fake injuries, with Bolt it's his strength or whatever.

He probably need to run about 8 races to win both 100 and 200. That is tough but he is is young and strong. Did n't quarrie compete in more than one event?

I am more worried about his nerves. If he choses to run in only one race and false start twice then he is out in the cold. I hope he decides to try both.

[Mosiah]

He probably need to run about 8 races to win both 100 and 200. That is tough but he is is young and strong. Did n't quarrie compete in more than one event?

I am more worried about his nerves. If he choses to run in only one race and false start twice then he is out in the cold. I hope he decides to try both.

Hundreds of athletes have run the two races and none of them have been as good and as dominant as Bolt. Bolt can jog all his races and still qualify. He will have two 100m races to deal with on the 15th, 2 on the 16, and then will run a 200m race the next 4 days. That is totally manageable.

Little Veronica has been doing it for the last umpteen years!

[Mosiah]

Oh, he only needs to false start once to be out!

[Lionpaw]

Glen Mills love make the paper so him always do tingz like this. Him come in like Beenie Man. Starved fi attention.

[Assasin]

The only thing I can say is as you say him like the paper but it could be more than that. Taking the attention and pressure away from Bolt and keep the competition guessing. Him and Bolt already know that them a run it.

[Mosiah]

This is taking pressure away from Bolt?!?

These are the rules -

1.The world record holder of an event must compete in that event, especially if the world record was set in the same year.

2. When one can win an event when only putting out 50% effort, one has no choice but to compete in that event. The 200m gold is the surest medal on the track, even surer than Wariner's 400m.

Ergo, Bolt will compete in both events.

[Assasin]

"must compete in that event"

Is that the case?

The fact that he keeps them guessing and maybe Bolt guessing for the one could make him pay more attention to the 2.

Nothing is sure. Warnier got beaten already this year and is not like he didn't put a lot of effort.

Anyway Bolt will run the two in my opinion.

[Sir X]

Usain Bolt heads class act for Jamaica at Crystal Palace ahead of Beijing Games

On the evidence of a fine weekend at Crystal Palace, Jamaica are going to provide the box office acts when the athletics gets under way in Beijing.


By Brendan Gallagher
Last Updated: 7:15PM BST 27 Jul 2008

Lightning quick: Usain Bolt at the Crystal Palace Grand Prix Photo: Getty Images


Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell, Veronica Campbell and Shelly Ann Fraser are the names that could dominate the headlines in three weeks' time.
The Caribbean island has strong gold medal hopes in the men's 100 metres and 200m, both sprint relays and the women's 400m hurdles where Melanie Walker, an impressive winner on Saturday, will be one of the athletes to beat.
Jamaica has always been a nursery for the world best sprinters. Don Quarry and Merlene Ottey are among their homegrown immortals. Ben Johnson, Donovan Bailey, Linford Christie and Sanya Richards were also born there and Colin Jackson has family roots on the island.
The class of 2008 looks Jamaica's best yet. The remarkable Bolt, who broke the 100m world record this year, was superb at Crystal Palace in the 200m which he devoured in 19.76sec, easing up. Rarely has such a world-class time been made to look so easy, and it is possible to imagine Michael Johnson's extraordinary 19.32 world record from Atlanta being broken. Bolt is keen to double up in Beijing but is waiting for his coach, Glen Mills, to give him the thumbs up, the drawback being that an emotionally draining 100m campaign could detract from his 200m "banker" which follows.
Powell, an impressive winner of the 100m on Friday in 9.94, has recovered well from his summer injury scare. He had feared a recurrence of a groin tear, but happily it was only a cramp. A fully-fit Tyson Gay would test both Jamaicans to the limit in what could be the event of Beijing 2008.
With Michael Frater, a past World Championship silver medallist, and Dwight Thomas to feed into the relay squad, Jamaica are poised to field an awesome team, although baton-changing has never been their strong point.
The USA also served notice that they are up for it. They threw together a quartet at short notice on Saturday to storm around in 37.40 – the fastest time in the world this year. Another final to relish.
In the women's 100m, Campbell, the Olympic 200m champion and favourite to retain her title unless Alison Felix can regain form, finished magnificently to hold her young compatriot Fraser in 10.87. Campbell could finish only fourth in the Jamaican 100m trials – another indicator of Jamaica's sprinting riches.

[Muadib]

I think the question is will he sacrifice Gold in one in the effort to run both....

No game involved in that...

[Muadib]

Suppose you are the World Record holder but come 4th in Trials...?