Yohan Blake is the youngest-ever World Champion in the 100m, the second fastest man over 100m with a personal best of 9.69 seconds, and he also happens to be the training partner of undoubtedly the greatest sprinter of all times, Usain St Leo Bolt.

Blake will be one of the headline acts at the JN at the National Stadium on Saturday and he says he plans to have fun at the ‘send-off party’ for his friend and mentor.“I am looking forward to go out there and execute a good race and have fun on Saturday. I am in excellent shape, I feel it, so I just want to go out there…once my execution is good, everything will be okay,” he said.The 27-year-old hails Bolt as a good training partner and also someone fun to be around.“He is a good training partner and as you can see, we all enjoy what we do and we enjoy him being around and he is a lot of fun.”The magnitude of this weekend’s meet is not lost on Blake, who is promising to make it as spectacular as can be.“This weekend is going to be a memorable one because it is his (Bolt) last race in Jamaica and anything I can do to contribute to a spectacular meet, that’s what I am going to do…to just go out there and have some fun with him.”While it has been fun training with Bolt, Blake has taken the time to learn as much as he can from the man who has won nine Olympic gold medals over three consecutive Olympic Games, beginning in Beijing, China, in 2008 and concluding last year in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.“He has taught me a lot: how to negotiate the turn in the 200m, not getting up too early in the 100m, just being patient so you can go much faster, which contributes to great speed,” Blake revealed.The lessons that Blake has learned began almost from day one.“The first time I came to Racers he said ‘Yohan you are not doing it for the people, you are doing it for yourself. As long as you make yourself comfortable the people can come after’, so he has taught me a lot, to be honest.”However, the most important lesson came after the Beijing Olympics when Blake asked Bolt about the car he was driving.“The most important lesson came one day when I said to him, ‘Ugo, when am I going to get to drive something like this’? (BMW X5). He said, ‘you have got to work for it’; what keeps him (Bolt) going is his family, he needed to provide for his family. He said ‘your time will come, man, just work hard,’ and that is what I did,” Blake continued.“I put that in my perspective, to use my family as motivation, so that is one of the most important things he taught me.”The former St Jago High Boys’ Champs star admits that he will miss Bolt when he finally hangs up his spikes at the end of the summer.“I will miss him for sure, but not only me, the entire world. He is a showboater; people like to see him and when I go to meets with him you can feel it in the atmosphere, you can feel the energy in the crowd. When I run with him I think I run some of my best races.”According to Blake, he will not be left on his own after Bolt’s retirement as his friend has promised to help make the transition as smooth as possible.“He says he is going to be here after he retires because he is going to leave the baton in my hand and he wants to make sure that I am doing the right thing. That is something I am looking forward to take advantage of, as well.”After the meet this weekend, Blake plans to shift focus very quickly in preparation for the World Championships in London, in August.“This weekend is a stepping stone going into trials in two weeks, running the 100m and 200m.”Two silver medals in the 100m and 200m at the London Olympic Games in 2012 have him salivating for more.“The London experience will be big for me; my people are in London, the crowd they love me there and I love it there. The stadium, the atmosphere is going to be booming and I am ready to go.”But for now, the focus is on Saturday and making sure that Bolt gets the Jamaican send-off he never forgets.— Dwayne Richards