Yohan Blake: The Man Who Could Have Beaten Bolt's 200m World Record
Introduction
Yohan Blake, a widely renown sprinter in the sprinting and global community, was once very close to beating Usain Bolt’s 200m world record time. Blake is known as the world’s second-fastest sprinter, right behind the world’s fastest sprinter and Jamaican training partner, Usain Bolt, who holds multiple world records in the sprinting world. In this article, Evan delves into Blake’s upbringing in the Track and Field scene and explores how he rivaled his fellow Jamaican sprinter, Usain Bolt.
Starting Out
Right before Blake started racing, he was a gifted cricketer and student at St. Jago High School in the Jamaican town of Spanish Town. Blake only took up sprinting when one of his teachers suggested it to him because he was impressed by Blake’s athletic capabilities. It did not take long for Blake to shine as at the age of 16 he ran a time of 10.11 seconds in the 100m, which was one of the fastest times ran by a junior in Jamaican sprint history. Soon after, Blake would join up with Coach Glen Mills, who also mentored Usain Bolt. Blake and Bolt became training partners, in which during that time Bolt gave Blake the nickname “Beast” because of his relentless work ethic during practice. Blake’s hard work finally bore fruit in 2010 when he broke the 10-second barrier in the 100m, running a time of 9.93 seconds and solidifying himself as a formidable contender on the world stage.
2011 Brussels: Diamond League
In 2011, Blake attended the prestigious Diamond League track meet, which was filled with many elite track and field athletes. On this day, Blake would run his fastest 200m race ever in Brussels, Belgium. He ran a whopping time of 19.26 seconds, which is the second-fastest time right behind Bolt’s time of 19.19 seconds. To this day, Blake’s 200m time is still the long-standing record in the Diamond League. Although Blake’s 19.26 seconds time is very fast, many have speculated that had he gotten a better block start at the beginning of the race, he could’ve ran a 19.17 second 200m time, effectively breaking Bolt’s record. In an interview, Blake stated that he remembered it being very cold on the day of the race and that pre-race butterflies had got to him. He also said that he “started slow because [he] was so nervous,” but after the first 100 meters, he was able to calm his mind and fly on through to the finish line.