This year’s London Olympics will be full of intrigue and magic. With a little over a week to go before the festivities kick off, two story lines are starting to shape up to make this one of the more interesting and anticipated games in recent history. Both coming from Track and Field where no time is more important than the Olympics for its fans and athletes.
The sport is showcased here and is usually the focal point of the games and where its stars are made. Some would argue swimming is the new focal point of the games, where Michael Phelps could blow smoke bubbles of Acapulco Gold underwater and still get English gold. Just thought I’d give Phelps a shout out and praise him for rising above the high controversy. Maybe gymnastics because we all want to see how well the elementary
school ladies of China will fair or even basketball with the USA having different versions of Dream Teams I, II, III or whatever, as long as the NBA players are on the court that could be the spotlight of the games. But as long as Mercury has wings on his shoes we all know that it’s all about the runners. Especially in the house of champions that Jamaica has built in the sprint races.
For most of us the only relevant and entertaining portion of Track and Field – unless that is you are from North Africa and have the patience to watch the Kenyans and Ethiopians battle it out for too long and for too many circles in the distant races – are the sprints. An unnatural force of nature could actually happen and we could see the slowing down of lightning. Usain Bolt could very well lose his crown as the World’s Fastest Man.
Yohan Blake is at the center of this trouble after getting the better of his training partner and target at the Jamaican Trails. Usain in the post performance enhancement drug age of the sport has been a constant image of unbeatable. His swagger being even more intimidating with each clock melting record time he has recorded in major races over the last four years. His training partner has beat him twice in the last few months; a feat
that hadn’t happen in over 20 meets. Spelling out an epic 100m and 200m dash that should be races for the ages.
A silver lining type of hope for the USA would be for these two guys to be so focused on each other that Tyson Gay the perennial bridesmaid of the games lately could somehow have his bouquet catching promises come true and get the number one spot, unlikely but possible.
Bolt has pulled out of a Diamond League meet in Monaco to nurse a nagging injury and reset for London where he promises to show us something special. I just hope it’s not leaving Great Britain with a loss leaving behind slowed lightning and his last flashes of greatness. If that’s not enough we could actually see a double amputee take the medal stand with South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius participating with the aid of his Cheetah Flex-Foot artificial limbs. There should be plenty of excitement at the Union Jack.
By Darnell Scribes – @MyBoxSeat