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Wednesday, 06 August 2008
The 'Forgotten Five' aim to upstage Bolt, Gay and Powell
Conventional wisdom since the start of the year has suggested that the men's 100m medals in Beijing will be split between Jamaica and the United States but other men have the credentials to seriously beg to differ.
The Bahamas' Derrick Atkins, Netherlands Antilles' Churandy Martina and the Trinidad and Tobago duo of Richard Thompson and Marc Burns lead the Caribbean challenge to upset the odds, while Portugal's Francis Obikwelu is looking to put the old continent on the podium.
Atkins ready to attack
At the World Championships 12 months ago, Atkins showed he is the man for the big occasion in Osaka when got the 100m silver medal, wearing his nation's striking blue apparel in one of the sport's blue riband events. He came home behind Tyson Gay, but ahead of Asafa Powell, in a national record 9.91.
This year Atkins has yet to legally go under the elite benchmark of 10 seconds. His best for the year so far is the 10.02 he ran on 29 July at the Monaco Grand Prix meeting, although he has twice cracked the barrier with wind-assistance during this summer.
However, like a slow burning fuse, Atkins believes that he is ready to detonate at the appropriate moment and, after his feat last year, it's hard to argue against him.
"I know the attention has been on the guys like Asafa and Usain, as well as the Americans, but it was the same last year. It doesn't matter to me that people are talking about them because the Olympics are the only thing that matters this year and I'm confident I can be on the podium in Beijing," commented Atkins.
"In Beijing, it could take running in the 9.7s to get a medal but I think I'll be ready to do that," he added.
more
http://www.iaaf.org/OLY08/news/kind=...sid=46438.html
The 'Forgotten Five' aim to upstage Bolt, Gay and Powell
Derrick Atkins in the first round of the 100m (Getty Images)
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Conventional wisdom since the start of the year has suggested that the men's 100m medals in Beijing will be split between Jamaica and the United States but other men have the credentials to seriously beg to differ.
The Bahamas' Derrick Atkins, Netherlands Antilles' Churandy Martina and the Trinidad and Tobago duo of Richard Thompson and Marc Burns lead the Caribbean challenge to upset the odds, while Portugal's Francis Obikwelu is looking to put the old continent on the podium.
Atkins ready to attack
At the World Championships 12 months ago, Atkins showed he is the man for the big occasion in Osaka when got the 100m silver medal, wearing his nation's striking blue apparel in one of the sport's blue riband events. He came home behind Tyson Gay, but ahead of Asafa Powell, in a national record 9.91.
This year Atkins has yet to legally go under the elite benchmark of 10 seconds. His best for the year so far is the 10.02 he ran on 29 July at the Monaco Grand Prix meeting, although he has twice cracked the barrier with wind-assistance during this summer.
However, like a slow burning fuse, Atkins believes that he is ready to detonate at the appropriate moment and, after his feat last year, it's hard to argue against him.
"I know the attention has been on the guys like Asafa and Usain, as well as the Americans, but it was the same last year. It doesn't matter to me that people are talking about them because the Olympics are the only thing that matters this year and I'm confident I can be on the podium in Beijing," commented Atkins.
"In Beijing, it could take running in the 9.7s to get a medal but I think I'll be ready to do that," he added.
more
http://www.iaaf.org/OLY08/news/kind=...sid=46438.html
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