KINGSTON, Jamaica (Sporting Alert) — World-leads and several other fast times have been producing around Usain Bolt all season, yet the Jamaican world record holder isn’t being bothered by his rivals’ impressive early season performances.
Bolt, who besides his 19.79 second clocking over the 200m earlier this month, hasn’t been dominating the sprints the way track and field fans are accustom to, but the six-time Olympic gold medallist doesn’t seem to be worried.
The 26-year-old will once again have a host of superstars gunning for him at this summer’s IAAF World Championships in Moscow, Russia, and although acknowledging that there will be lots of threats, Bolt says his main focus will be on his own preparations.
“I don’t think about it (the other runners),” Bolt was quoted as telling www.indrus.in. “I prefer to focus one hundred percent on my own game, making sure that I can get the best possible performance out of myself.
“I don’t want to look around and worry about who might beat me. There’s no need to make comparisons.”
The Jamaican national 100m champion believes Americans Tyson Gay, Justin Gatlin and his fellow countryman and training partner Yohan Blake, the reigning world 100m champion, will make the championships very interested.
“There are quite a few guys who are looking good right now. Tyson Gay, Justin Gatlin, Christophe Lemaitre… Yohan Blake’s coming back from injury, so that should make this season interesting,” he said.
“But I’m really just trying to concentrate on my own game and what I’m capable of – so that I can get back to where I was.”
He ran, by his standards, a modest 9.94 seconds to win the Jamaica trials, but he said he wasn’t trying to extend himself.
“Trials is always about making the team,” the world’s fastest man said. “It’s at the (world) championships it really matters.”
The IAAF World Championships run from 10 August to 18 August.
Bolt is the defending 200m champion. He holds the world record in both the 100m, at 9.58seconds and 200m, at 19.19secs.
Bolt should be very worried about Tyson Gay who has now recovered from injury. I predict that Bolt will NEVER top his world times for the 100 and 200 in the future. I also predict Gay will win the 100 in Moscow and Bolt the 200.