Yohan Blake excited by 100m Paris showdown, backs Jamaicans
Jamaican sprinting icon Yohan Blake says that while he is rooting for his countrymen to deliver the 100m gold medal at the Olympic Games, he is expecting an open competition going into the Paris final.
Jamaican newboy Kishane Thompson (9.77 seconds) and Oblique Seville (9.82), who has run himself to back-to-back fourth-place finishes at the World Championships, and to a lesser extent, World Indoor Championships 60m bronze medal winner Ackeem Blake (9.92), are in the conversation and will be expected to challenge American showman Noah Lyles, the reigning world champion, as well as a host of other contenders, for the top prize in athletics – the Olympic 100m crown.
Blake, who won double sprint silver at the 2012 Games in London behind the legendary Usain Bolt, a year after becoming the youngest 100m world champion in history, says he was excited by the upcoming clash and was happy with the competition and interest generated by the top sprinters heading into the showpiece event.
“Back then with me, Usain, Asafa (Powell), (Justin) Gatlin and Tyson (Gay), the field was crazy. I love to see that Noah Lyles, Oblique Seville and Kishane Thompson, Ackeem Blake and the others are coming through and producing great times, (it) makes the sport exciting again,” said Blake.
“I love it, I love the showmanship, I love the camaraderie, I love everything that they are doing just to push the sport forward,” he added.
Blake was competing at the Ed Murphey Classic in Memphis, Tennessee, a stop on the American Track League circuit, where he finished at the back of the field in 10.42 seconds.
The race was won by American PJ Austin in 10.04, ahead of Liberia’s Emmanuel Matadi, 10.10 and Brandon Hicklin (USA), 10.12.
Blake had earlier ran third in his heat with a time of 10.27.
Another Jamaican, Kadrian Goldson, finished eighth in the final with a time of 10.39.
Meanwhile, Blake, who missed out on qualifying for the Olympics after failing to make the final at the National Senior Championships, believes the race for the gold medal will be a close encounter in Paris, pointing out that the result may be determined by who is best able to handle the pressure.
“Anyone who gets to the finals, I believe it’s open because not everyone can handle pressure and I don’t want to single anybody out because anything is possible, but if I should root, I have to root for my countrymen,” Blake said.
