Sport
London 2012: Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake rivalry adds more excitment to track events
“That’s a scary thought: Yohan Blake and Usain Bolt training together. … That should kick in that extra motivation, if there’s anything needed there,” U.S. hurdler David Oliver said. “Just to see what those two guys are capable of doing, if they’re both on?”
Bolt’s world records are 9.58 seconds in the 100, and 19.19 in the 200. Blake ran a personal-best 9.75 at trials and has a 19.26 in the longer race.
“You just never know,” Oliver added. “It’s going to be a spectacle, that’s for sure.”
That head-to-head showdown might be only one part of what could turn out to be a Jamaica vs. Jamaica Olympics, as opposed to Jamaica vs. The World, or Jamaica vs. U.S.
While Jamaica was adding Blake to its collection of possible gold medalists, and defending women’s 100 Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce was running the seventh-fastest time ever (10.70) while also adding a 200 national title, the U.S. team experienced as many negatives as positives during its tumultuous Olympic trials.
Decathlete Ashton Eaton set a world record, but teammate Bryan Clay, the defending Olympic champion, didn’t qualify.
A U.S. sprinter with personality, 200-meter runner Wallace Spearmon, found his form, but double Olympic bronze medalist Walter Dix failed to make the team, and 2004 400-meter champion Jeremy Wariner only made it as part of the relay pool.
