Sport
London 2012: Sprint stars Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake have no room for error at trials
Usain Bolt receives baton from Yohan Blake at Daegu Stadium on September 4, 2011 in Daegu, South Korea. PHOTO/Mark Dadswell/Getty Images AsiaPac
Eighteen of the world’s 20 fastest sprinters this year are American or Jamaican. Only six can run in the Olympic Games in London.
And there is no guarantee that one of them will be Usain Bolt, the world’s fastest man. Or Yohan Blake, the world champion. Or Tyson Gay, the world’s second fastest man.
Those who have paid GBP£725 (US$1,138) for a ticket to the 100 metres final in London will hope these stars make it but the Jamaicans and Americans operate the same suicidal sudden-death system of picking their Olympic track and field teams.
The first three to cross the line at the trials – the US start today in Eugene, Oregon, the Jamaicans next week – go to the Games. No excuses, no exceptions, not even if your name is Usain Bolt. Fourth is nowhere. And if you stub your toe in the shower on Trials morning, bad luck. Four years hard work and a lifetime of dreams could be down the plughole.