Having apparently recovered sufficiently from his niggling hamstring injuries with a world-leading 9.95 second clocking last Saturday at the MVP track meet, Yohan Blake no longer wants to be associated with the moniker of the ‘Beast’.

He wants it off his back.

“My friends and coach have been talking to me about getting back and they said, you know you have to get rid of that name the Beast because it has been holding you back. So I get rid of that name now and it has been good,” Blake said.

Blake, 26, the 2011 World Championships 100m champion, has been struggling with hamstring injuries since 2013, but has been slowly coming back into his own as he battles the mental aspect of getting hurt once again.

“It has been really tough. First and foremost, I have to give God thanks. God has been present in my life and has changed my life because I get back to Him,” he noted.

Two weeks ago he ran 21.33 seconds in the 200m at the UWI Invitational, finishing second behind teammate Warren Weir in 21.23 seconds at the Usain Bolt track.

On Saturday at the MVP Track and Field meet at the National Stadium, he ran his first 100m of the season and looked awesome as he powered away from the field in 9.95 seconds. It was his first sub-10 clocking in two years.

Blake got out a bit slowly and was trailing Rasheed Dwyer at the halfway mark but found an extra gear and sprinted past the field to win easily with a wind of 1.6 mps. Dwyer of Sprintec and Zharnel Hughes of Great Britain were second and third, respectively, with 10.10 seconds each. MVP’s Andrew Fisher was fourth in 10.14 seconds.

Blake, who is the youngest 100m world champion at 21 years and 245 days, appears to be getting back to his best, both physically and mentally.

“I felt really good from the relay and I said to my friend, we are going to get nine something or the world lead,” said Blake.

“My coach has been really working hard in getting the legs up to scratch and right now it’s firing. My first 100m and running like that….it’s looking good,” said Blake, as he continues his preparations for the Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil.

Blake, who is considered the heir apparent to the legendary Usain Bolt, is the second fastest man in history over both the 100m and the 200m with times of 9.69 seconds and 19.26 seconds respectively.

He won two silver medals at the 2012 London Olympic Games in the 100m and 200m, both times he had to play second fiddle to his training partner Bolt.