Sport
London 2012: Usain Bolt goes for gold in 4×100 relay at Olympics
“We’re going to figure out a way to go out there and compete with them,” Gatlin said. “We’re not scared of them.”
In the final, Bolt will take Kemar Bailey-Cole’s place on the anchor leg. Nesta Carter, Michael Frater and Blake, the 100- and 200-meter runner-up, will run in the first three spots, just like they did in the preliminaries.
The Jamaicans have topped every men’s sprint in the last two Olympics, with Bolt winning five gold medals while setting three world records.
Now, after already proclaiming himself a legend, Bolt gets an opportunity to make it 6 for 6.
“They’re definitely fast. They’re definitely worthy opponents,” Gatlin said. “I’m the kind of person that loves pressure. This is the level we have to reach. This is the level we have to achieve.”
Bolt first helped rewrite the relay record to close out his three-win, three-world-record performance four years ago in Beijing, when he ran the third leg of a race the Jamaicans finished in 37.10. They have since lowered it to 37.04. Bolt hasn’t set a record in London so far but has become the first man to repeat at the Olympics in both the 100 and 200.
In the preliminaries, the U.S. went with former Florida football player Jeff Demps, Darvis Patton, Trell Kimmons and Gatlin, this year’s 100-meter bronze medalist.
