LIMPING BOLT IS OUT OF SORTS
HE did the pose, he did his waves, he got the win. But plainly all is not quite right with Usain Bolt, who rather worryingly has niggling issues with his form, fitness and perhaps even his mind two months out from the World Championships.
His 100metres time here in the Czech Republic was 10.06sec, which is hardly grounds for a full-scale search for a lost soul, but equally it was a good deal short of the standards he has set. He ran 9.58sec when he last broke the world record at the World Championships in Berlin in 2009.
The fact he only marginally beat Yunier Perez, a Cuban running a personal best of 10.09sec, is a little concerning, and more troubling was his admission of ‘some health issues’. He said afterwards that he would be visiting his doctor, Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt, in Germany for help with the ‘tight back’ which appears to be slowing him down in a farewell season that is yet to hit its stride.
His season-opening run of 10.03sec in Jamaica on June 10 was, in his words, ‘horrifying’, a combination of a slow start and subdued finish. Here, his start was only marginally better and his customary mid-race burst was barely noticeable. His margin of victory in a mediocre field was surprisingly small margin.
‘I’m not happy with the time but I’m just getting into my running, improving the execution,’ said the 30-year-old.
‘I never worry. It’s just my back, as always. My doctor told me over the years that the older I get the worse it is going to get so I just really have to try and keep it in check.
‘I need to go see him to make sure everything is smooth because it is a bit tight. But I didn’t get injured and that’s the key thing. I am happy about that — it’s just about sorting it out and I should be fine for London.’
Of course, this may just be the lull before the glory, as in his injury-hit 2015 season when he recovered to beat the convicted doper Justin Gatlin in the World Championships. But this time round he has more on his mind, most notably the passing of his close friend Germaine Mason, the British high jumper who was partying with Bolt the night he crashed his motorcycle and died.
Bolt said he lost three weeks of training to grief and his coach Glen Mills offered a greater insight into Bolt’s true feelings yesterday, saying in Jamaica: ‘It was a big blow; he took it very hard. It affected him in terms of his training and I am sure that in moments away from training there is remembrance and sorrow and so on.
‘But he is a champion and a fighter. In time, he will overcome and be able to continue his life.’
With the likes of Andre De Grasse and Christian Coleman coming along fast, the clock is ticking on the catch-up mission. But Bolt still has a warm-up race in Monaco next month before heading to London and the sprints that will end his magnificent career.
Meanwhile, Mo Farah beat a weak field to win the 10,000m but fell way short of his stated aim of beating his personal best.
His goal was to break 26:46.57, but that was fanciful in the absence of world-class opposition to pull him along. His closest challenger on the night, Mathew Kimeli, finished sixth in the Kenyan trials four days earlier and the 19-year- old didn’t push Farah until the final lap. The Brit’s sprint response was convincing, but his winning time of 27:12.09 was solid if not spectacular.