Usain Bolt of Jamaica crosses the finish line to win the men’s 200-meter race. (AP-Yonhap News)
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) ― As tough as it is to upstage Usain Bolt, fellow Jamaican Johan Blake just about did it on Thursday at the Athletissima Diamond League meet.
Bolt, the Olympic champion and world record holder over 100 and 200 meters, timed 19.58 seconds in the fastest 200 ever run at the speedy Lausanne track.
Twenty minutes earlier, Blake, Bolt’s friend and rival, closed the gap between them in the all-time 100 rankings.
Blake, a two-time Olympic silver medalist, clocked 9.69 to match Tyson Gay as the fastest man in history not named Usain Bolt.
“9.69 is a wonderful result,” said Bolt, who ran that time when setting a then-world record at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. “I knew he is going to push real hard tonight.”
Blake, fighting off a post-London Games cold, overcame a slight headwind to shave .06 off his previous best. He ran 9.75 to beat Bolt in the Jamaican Olympic trials in June and the same time again when his training partner finished in 9.63 to defend his Olympic title earlier this month.
“I knew I was fast and my coach told me I could run faster,” said Blake, who shares coach Glen Mills with Bolt.
koreaherald@heraldcorp.com
