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Agent in awe of Blake's rapid progress
BY KAYON RAYNOR, Senior staff reporter
raynork@jamaicaobserver.com
Thursday, July 23, 2009
ALTHOUGH surprised by Yohan Blake's rapid improvement this season, Cubie Seegobin - the 19-year-old athlete's agent - believes he can go faster than his personal best of 9.93 seconds before the year ends.
BLAKE... sped to incredible 9.93secs in Paris last Friday "I always knew he would run very fast because he has been showing that kind of progress in training," Seegobin told the Observer from London yesterday. However, the agent is still in awe of the overall speedy progress of the 2006 World Junior 100m bronze medallist.
Blake joined the Glen Mills Racers Track Club last October.
"I think he's two years ahead of his time and I know for sure that Coach Mills was thinking that two years from now, Yohan would be where he's supposed to be, but not so fast. We don't even know what will happen on Friday night, how fast he will run or how fast he will end up the season," Seegobin added.
Blake, who dipped below the 10-second barrier twice, with 9.96 seconds in Rome on July 10 and 9.93secs in Paris on July 17, is scheduled to race against world 100m and 200m record holder and training partner Usain Bolt in the shorter dash at the London Grand Prix tomorrow at Crystal Palace.
Former world record holder Asafa Powell and Antiguan Daniel Bailey will also be in the race.
"Depending on the weather, the competition and the atmosphere he could (go faster)... You see the kind of shape he's in and he's getting better with each race (because) he's getting more confidence and he's understanding how to race at this level," Seegobin added.
Quizzed about Blake's recent utterance in an Flotrack interview that he had "psychological and mental problems" at the National Trials, where he placed sixth and failed to book a spot in the 100m for the World Championships, Seegobin indicated that the young sprinter may have misused the words.
"I think basically what Yohan was talking about is the pressure of being a 19-year-old and having to compete at the level that he's been competing at, but Yohan doesn't have any psychological problems," the Guyanese-born agent affirmed.
Seegobin also sought to clarify Blake's statement in the same interview that he was trying to secure a place in the flat 100m at the World Championships.
"I know specifically that that (100m) is not Coach Mills' plan or my plan, because it was the (sprint) relay he was talking about," the agent explained.
On the matter of Blake's pre-race antics, which have been critiqued in certain quarters, Seegobin reasoned that those antics may be a part of the sprinter's mechanism to build confidence.
"As far as I'm concerned it's what makes them run fast; they (sprinters) get motivated in their own way and as long as they're not being disrespectful to another athlete or taking it too far and keep it in perspective, it's fine with me because I'm not going to suffocate their personalities," explained Seegobin, who also manages Blake's training partner, Bailey.
BY KAYON RAYNOR, Senior staff reporter
raynork@jamaicaobserver.com
Thursday, July 23, 2009
ALTHOUGH surprised by Yohan Blake's rapid improvement this season, Cubie Seegobin - the 19-year-old athlete's agent - believes he can go faster than his personal best of 9.93 seconds before the year ends.
BLAKE... sped to incredible 9.93secs in Paris last Friday "I always knew he would run very fast because he has been showing that kind of progress in training," Seegobin told the Observer from London yesterday. However, the agent is still in awe of the overall speedy progress of the 2006 World Junior 100m bronze medallist.
Blake joined the Glen Mills Racers Track Club last October.
"I think he's two years ahead of his time and I know for sure that Coach Mills was thinking that two years from now, Yohan would be where he's supposed to be, but not so fast. We don't even know what will happen on Friday night, how fast he will run or how fast he will end up the season," Seegobin added.
Blake, who dipped below the 10-second barrier twice, with 9.96 seconds in Rome on July 10 and 9.93secs in Paris on July 17, is scheduled to race against world 100m and 200m record holder and training partner Usain Bolt in the shorter dash at the London Grand Prix tomorrow at Crystal Palace.
Former world record holder Asafa Powell and Antiguan Daniel Bailey will also be in the race.
"Depending on the weather, the competition and the atmosphere he could (go faster)... You see the kind of shape he's in and he's getting better with each race (because) he's getting more confidence and he's understanding how to race at this level," Seegobin added.
Quizzed about Blake's recent utterance in an Flotrack interview that he had "psychological and mental problems" at the National Trials, where he placed sixth and failed to book a spot in the 100m for the World Championships, Seegobin indicated that the young sprinter may have misused the words.
"I think basically what Yohan was talking about is the pressure of being a 19-year-old and having to compete at the level that he's been competing at, but Yohan doesn't have any psychological problems," the Guyanese-born agent affirmed.
Seegobin also sought to clarify Blake's statement in the same interview that he was trying to secure a place in the flat 100m at the World Championships.
"I know specifically that that (100m) is not Coach Mills' plan or my plan, because it was the (sprint) relay he was talking about," the agent explained.
On the matter of Blake's pre-race antics, which have been critiqued in certain quarters, Seegobin reasoned that those antics may be a part of the sprinter's mechanism to build confidence.
"As far as I'm concerned it's what makes them run fast; they (sprinters) get motivated in their own way and as long as they're not being disrespectful to another athlete or taking it too far and keep it in perspective, it's fine with me because I'm not going to suffocate their personalities," explained Seegobin, who also manages Blake's training partner, Bailey.
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