Usain Bolt Beaten by Yohan Blake Twice at Olympic Trials; Can He Win Olympics Again?
Jamaican sprint runner Yohan Blake has beaten the world's fastest runner Usain Bolt in both the 100 meters and 200 meters at the Jamaican Olympic trials over the weekend.
Blake beat Usain Bolt in the 200 meters at the Jamaican Olympic trials on Sunday, finishing in 19.80 seconds to edge the world-record holder Bolt by 0.03 seconds.
The win came two days after Blake beat Bolt in the 100 by running a personal best - 9.75. Blake then became the the reigning world champion at 100 meters.
Yohan Blake, who is Bolt's training partner, left the "stadium in shock," stated the BBC.
In an exclusive interview with Jamaican newspaper Jamaica Observer, Bolt blamed Friday's loss on the "movements in the blocks next to him in both the semis and finals of the men's 100m".
Bolt continued, "it is kinda hard to run down people like Blake, with his top end speed, but for me to get left in the blocks like that is really bad. I lost focus and when the gun went I was not focused. The guy next to me moved and it threw me off; I see these guys in my peripheral vision and it is kinda hard to ignore them so when they move its gonna throw me off a little bit and I got left and when I get left it is hard."
Bolt called Blake "a class runner" in the same interview. "Yohan is a class runner without a doubt and I have said it over the years that he is one of the best so for me it's just one of those things."
Bolt also responded to questions on whether his leg was to blame after he was getting it worked on while lying on the track after the 200m race.
"I don't want to get into that," Bolt said, according to espn.com. "I was just working (the leg) around for a few moments to get myself back together. I'm not far off. I can get it done,"
Blake responded to the win by stating that his practice partner Bolt "always gives me a lot of encouragement and tells me to keep coming to this race."
Usain Bolt is a three-time Olympic gold medalist. He is the Olympic record holder in both the 100 and 200 meters.