Bolt of old looks gone amid ‘shaky’ blocks claims
Usain Bolt blamed ‘‘shaky’’ blocks after struggling through the first round of the 100m in what will be his farewell event.
Bolt started his heat sluggishly and had to work hard to finish first in his heat with a slow time of 10.07 seconds yesterday.
The 30-year-old, who will retire after these World Championships at the London Stadium, said: ‘‘That was very bad. I stumbled a little coming out of the blocks. I’m not really fond of these blocks. I think these are the worst blocks I’ve ever experienced. I have to get the start together, I can’t keep doing this.’’
He added: ‘‘It’s shaky. When I did my warm-up and I pushed back it fell back. It’s just not what I’m used to. It’s not as sturdy or as firm as I’m used to.’’
This was far from vintage Bolt but he did enough to finish ahead of England’s James Dasaolu, who was second in 10.13, with Jimmy Vicaut, of France, third in 10.15.
Justin Gatlin, whose position as pantomime villain was assured when he was booed by the crowd, and Christian Coleman looked good.
There had been doubts over Bolt’s form coming into these championships and the former American sprint star Michael Johnson was surprised not only by the Jamaican’s performance but by his explanation afterwards. ‘‘They look like normal blocks to me but the race didn’t look like normal Usain Bolt,’’ the four-times Olympic champion said. ‘‘He obviously felt something in the blocks and he wasn’t happy with the start and it affected him in the race. He was looking around much earlier than he usually does. He normally doesn’t have to race in the first round but he was actually competing and it just looked a little weird.’’
Getting Bolt here fit and in form has not been easy. The race was only his fifth of the year, a figure that included a 150m race in Melbourne as team leader for Nitro Athletics. How much Bolt had switched off after clinching his third successive Olympic sprint double in Rio last summer is not clear, but each year lately he has needed time to get his aching body into race shape.
This season was further hampered by the death in a motorbike crash of his close friend Germaine Mason, the high jumper who was a junior in Jamaica teams before winning an Olympic silver medal with Great Britain. The loss hit Bolt hard. He took three weeks off training and had to be persuaded by friends to return in Mason’s honour. But when he did make it to the track, the races seemed to come a poor second to the tribute shows.
On the form of his opening two 100m races, in Kingston and Ostrava, Bolt looked there for the taking. Running 10.03 in Jamaica and 10.06 in the Czech Republic against second-rate fields is hardly gold-medal stuff. The final of the men’s 100m will take place at 8.45am this morning, NZ time.