Usain Bolt flies home to Jamaica on Friday to run in trials for his place in the island’s Olympic team, an examination about as necessary as asking Stephen Hawking to resit his A levels.
World champion Yohan Blake’s challenge awaits him in Kingston — Blake races in New York on Saturday — but in his present form Bolt is a shoo-in for the team his island will send to London. After running 9.79sec in Oslo on Thursday, he owns the year’s three fastest 100 metres times.
‘I am not yet in the shape where I can say, “Nobody can beat me”. My start is letting me down slightly still,’ said Bolt. ‘I can’t complain but the execution of my race was not perfect.’
For that he blamed shorter starting blocks, introduced by Omega this year to Diamond League meetings. They will be used in the Olympic Games.
‘Too small for my size 13 feet,’ he said.
His compatriot Asafa Powell, history’s most prolific sub-10sec sprinter, clung to him longer than usual after his superior start and finished with his year’s fastest time of 9.85sec but that is his 11th defeat by Bolt in the 12 races in which both have finished.
Britain’s Marlon Devonish came sixth but Mark Lewis-Francis was disqualified.
With Bolt, Blake and Powell now having run the year’s fastest times, the Jamaican trials two weeks today will be an Olympic prequel. Don’t bet any money against Bolt.
By NEIL WILSON
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