A line forms behind Bolt
After sprinter’s decade of dash dominance, others have a chance
“The fact that I got back into the race shows I’m in decent form . . . The more I run the better I feel.” USAIN BOLT AFTER WINNING HIS 100-METRE HEAT
LONDON— The story of sprinting has been the story of Usain Bolt for nearly a decade, but that is about to change.
And, one by one, heat by heat, the world’s fastest men stepped out before 60,000 fans here at the track and field world championships looking to announce themselves as the sport’s future.
America’s young gun, 21-year-old Christian Coleman, started things off winning the first heat Friday evening. He made10.01look easy — very easy, as pulled up over the last 20-metres.
Japan’s Abdul Sani Brown, incredibly just18 years old, won his heat, followed by 24-year-old Jamaican Julian Forte, whose 9.99 win was the only sub-10 second clocking of the night.
It wasn’t until the sixth and final heat that Bolt, who has said he is retiring after these championships, stepped on the track. The global superstar turns 31 later this month and looks more vulnerable than ever, but still he wins.
He was terribly slow out of the blocks and was barely in the middle of the field at the halfway mark and yet he pulled ahead before the line to win his heat in 10.07.
“Poor start,” said Bolt, smiling as usual, after the race. “The fact that I got back into the race shows I’m in decent form.
“The more I run the better I feel . . . I’m looking forward to (Saturday).”
Bolt, who owns eight Olympic gold medals and 11 world titles, has vowed that this will be his last major 100 and, if so, it’s everyone else’s last chance to try and beat the world’s most dominant sprinter before he retires.
That’s a final that Canada’s Andre De Grasse was expected to be part of until he pulled out Wednesday with a hamstring injury.
It took 10.24 seconds to qualify for the Saturday afternoon semifinals and Canada’s other two sprinters weren’t able to get there.
Brendon Rodney, a 200-metre specialist, finished sixth in his heat with a 10.36 clocking did not advance. Gavin Smellie, a long-time 4x100-metre relay veteran, finished fifth in 10.29.
Whether Bolt wins his final 100metre title here or not, a new era of sprinting is coming. And it’s unlikely to look anything like the last one.
Of the five fastest runners of all time, only Yohan Blake is still under 30 years of age. Retirement can’t be far off for the rest, including Justin Gatlin, Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell.
In the lead-up to these championships, the fastest times this year, led by Coleman at 9.82, have all been set by men in their 20s.
In June, the 22-year-old De Grasse caused a flurry excitement with his heavily wind-aided 9.69 clocking and had the track world wondering what he might be able to do if conditions were good in a race where he was pushed by the world’s best.
But none of the young sprinters — even if one were to manage to cross the line first in Saturday night’s final — will be the next Bolt.
“There’s no future Bolt,” said Canadian coach Stuart McMillan who trains De Grasse and Britain’s fastest man, 23-year-old CJ Ujah, who easily advanced to the semis.
“There’s no one, including Bolt, that is bigger than the sport. There’s always a reset of the stars.” DONOVAN BAILEY ON THE FUTURE OF SPRINTING
“In the history of sprinting there’s never been another generation like the Bolt generation where they had one dominant sprinter who was basically winning every race that he wanted to win,” McMillan said. “Every other generation prior to that has had three, four or five all gunning for each other, with rivalries of sprinters, and I think that’s probably where we’re going to go back into.”
Canadian 100-metre record holder Donovan Bailey agrees that Bolt’s retirement will herald a new era in sprinting. And while some have expressed concerns that no one will be as marketable as Bolt, who comes with a personality as big as his sixfoot-five frame, Bailey isn’t worried.
“There’s no one, including Bolt, that is bigger than the sport,” said Bailey, who shares his Canadian record of 9.84 seconds with Bruny Surin. “There’s always a reset, every six to10 years, of the stars.”
Prior to his injury, Bailey thought that De Grasse had a shot of making the podium here and, possibly, even giving a Bolt a hard run for gold.
“But I would never bet against Bolt, I still think he’ll win.”