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Congrats Mr Bolt, now think carefully about Beijing
Monday, June 02, 2008
Jamaicans, both here and abroad, are today still basking in the pride and joy of Mr Usain Bolt's 100-metre world record run at the Reebok Grand Prix athletics meet in New York late Saturday night.
His 9.72 seconds performance in the event to erase fellow Jamaican Mr Asafa Powell's world record 9.74 seconds set in Italy last year is expected to be the subject of hot discussion through today, and will no doubt continue to dominate debate in athletics circles leading up to the XXIX Olympic Games in Beijing in August.
Mr Bolt is to be heartily congratulated on this sensational achievement which will definitely keep the spotlight on him and, indeed, Jamaica for the next two months at least.
In fact, that international attention had already turned our way after his stunning 9.76 seconds - the second fastest time ever - over the same distance at the Jamaica International Invitational Meet in Kingston early last month.
That performance gave Jamaica the pleasurable right to boast of having the two fastest men on earth, especially given that Mr Bolt was running the 100 metres as part of his speed-work preparation for the 200 metres - his pet event - at the Olympics.
After that performance last month, we had argued in this space that Mr Bolt and his coach, Mr Glen Mills, need to seriously determine whether he is mentally and physically ready to compete in the 100 metres at the Olympics.
For as we pointed out, the 100 metres and 200 metres involve four gruelling rounds each, with the semi-final and final requiring peak performance. That is a far cry from the single race feature of meets such as the Jamaica International Invitational and the Reebok Grand Prix.
Based on Mr Bolt's comments after Saturday night's race, he clearly believes that he is able to manage both sprints at the Olympics.
We have no doubt that he is extraordinarily talented, as he has been demonstrating his skill since he was a teenage student at William Knibb High School in Trelawny before becoming the first junior athlete to break the 20-second barrier with 19.93 seconds in the 200 metres at the 2004 World Junior Championships.
However, we must again caution that any decision that he and his coach make regarding his Olympics competition needs to be devoid of emotion and the euphoria of his 100 metres triumphs. For even though he showed great form on Saturday night, there is a real possibility that Mr Bolt, because of his huge six-and-a-half feet frame, could struggle with his start in the 100 metres against smaller runners who, because of their size, will more likely move faster out of the blocks.
In fact, he admitted in a post-race interview yesterday that the false start in New York on Saturday night gave him an opportunity to improve on his movement out of the blocks on the second signal from the starter.
If he can get his start perfect and survive the tough rounds at the Olympics, we have no doubt that Mr Bolt will have a good chance to medal in both individual events.
Whether he sticks to his decision to double up is yet to be seen. However, what we can forecast with a degree of certainty is that the Jamaican Olympic contingent will provide great excitement at Beijing.
What a feast awaits the world.
Monday, June 02, 2008
Jamaicans, both here and abroad, are today still basking in the pride and joy of Mr Usain Bolt's 100-metre world record run at the Reebok Grand Prix athletics meet in New York late Saturday night.
His 9.72 seconds performance in the event to erase fellow Jamaican Mr Asafa Powell's world record 9.74 seconds set in Italy last year is expected to be the subject of hot discussion through today, and will no doubt continue to dominate debate in athletics circles leading up to the XXIX Olympic Games in Beijing in August.
Mr Bolt is to be heartily congratulated on this sensational achievement which will definitely keep the spotlight on him and, indeed, Jamaica for the next two months at least.
In fact, that international attention had already turned our way after his stunning 9.76 seconds - the second fastest time ever - over the same distance at the Jamaica International Invitational Meet in Kingston early last month.
That performance gave Jamaica the pleasurable right to boast of having the two fastest men on earth, especially given that Mr Bolt was running the 100 metres as part of his speed-work preparation for the 200 metres - his pet event - at the Olympics.
After that performance last month, we had argued in this space that Mr Bolt and his coach, Mr Glen Mills, need to seriously determine whether he is mentally and physically ready to compete in the 100 metres at the Olympics.
For as we pointed out, the 100 metres and 200 metres involve four gruelling rounds each, with the semi-final and final requiring peak performance. That is a far cry from the single race feature of meets such as the Jamaica International Invitational and the Reebok Grand Prix.
Based on Mr Bolt's comments after Saturday night's race, he clearly believes that he is able to manage both sprints at the Olympics.
We have no doubt that he is extraordinarily talented, as he has been demonstrating his skill since he was a teenage student at William Knibb High School in Trelawny before becoming the first junior athlete to break the 20-second barrier with 19.93 seconds in the 200 metres at the 2004 World Junior Championships.
However, we must again caution that any decision that he and his coach make regarding his Olympics competition needs to be devoid of emotion and the euphoria of his 100 metres triumphs. For even though he showed great form on Saturday night, there is a real possibility that Mr Bolt, because of his huge six-and-a-half feet frame, could struggle with his start in the 100 metres against smaller runners who, because of their size, will more likely move faster out of the blocks.
In fact, he admitted in a post-race interview yesterday that the false start in New York on Saturday night gave him an opportunity to improve on his movement out of the blocks on the second signal from the starter.
If he can get his start perfect and survive the tough rounds at the Olympics, we have no doubt that Mr Bolt will have a good chance to medal in both individual events.
Whether he sticks to his decision to double up is yet to be seen. However, what we can forecast with a degree of certainty is that the Jamaican Olympic contingent will provide great excitement at Beijing.
What a feast awaits the world.
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