Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/76023
Thursday, July 26, 2012 – Daily News Bolt looks to strike again OLYMPICS By HELENE ELLIOTT McClatchy-Tribune Usain Bolt must have a bad hamstring, which would explain why the dazzling sprinter who set three world records while electrifying crowds at the Beijing Olympics lost twice to com- patriot Yohan Blake at the recent Jamaican Olympic trials. It also would explain why Bolt, who previously hadn't lost a 200-meter race other than a qualifying heat since 2007, afterward visited his longtime sports doctor in Germany for treatment and then withdrew from the final London Olympics tuneup meet this week in Monaco. No, the problem must be after Bolt was charged with a false start and disqualified, beat a slow-starting Bolt with a personal-best 9.75 seconds in the 100 final. Two days later Blake, 22 and a contrast to Bolt at a stocky and powerful 5 feet 11 and 175 pounds, capital- ized on another bad start by his rival to win the 200 in 19.80. Bolt was second at 19.83. that Bolt's back is acting up again. The evidence offered by breathless British press reports: Bolt asked for a 7- foot-long, customized and orthopedically friendly mat- tress to be delivered to his room at the Jamaican team's pre-Olympic training head- quarters in Birmingham, England, the better to cradle his lanky, 6-foot-5 frame and ease his chronic back problems. The real reason for Bolt's defeats probably combines the discomfort of a balky hamstring, the woes gener- ated by a congenitally curved spine and the emer- gence of training partner Blake as a new and younger rival to his supremacy in perfect time for a memo- rable showdown at the Lon- don Summer Games. But don't write Bolt off just yet. "Every time he has been severely challenged and it looks like he maybe has a chink in the armor he has bounced back pretty strong," said Ato Boldon, a four-time Olympic sprint medalist and four-time world champi- onship medalist for Trinidad and Tobago who will ana- lyze track events during NBC's Olympic coverage. "I am not one of those who think he is automatical- ly going to lose in London. But for the first time he is not the favorite in the 100." With Bolt and his team- mates sequestered at the Jamaicans' practice facility, no reliable reports about Bolt's fitness have surfaced. That has left fans of the sport to wonder if the charismatic Usain Bolt's health may play a role at the Olympics. sprinter whose playful per- sonality is reflected in his trademark "Lightning Bolt" post-victory pose — right arm drawn back at shoulder height, left arm extended with his left index finger pointing toward the heavens — has lost some of his thun- der to Blake. blazing time of 19.19 sec- onds, all the while winning fans with his down-to-earth demeanor. At a meet last week in Lucerne, Switzerland, Blake overcame his own slow start to win the 100 in 9.85. Only Blake, Bolt and American sprinter Justin Gatlin have run faster this year. "I didn't come here to run a quick time but it's still a fast time. Not many guys run 9.85," Blake told reporters. Bolt has three faster times this season but his losses to Blake at the Jamaican trials stand out as the Olympics approach. Boldon said Bolt's poor starts in the trials shouldn't be seen as the start of a bad trend. Bolt might provide some illumination Thursday, when the Jamaican team is scheduled to participate in a pre-Olympic news confer- ence in London. Bolt's agent, Ricky Simms, told reporters two weeks ago the hamstring tightness Bolt had felt during the Jamaican meet had vanished and that Bolt was "back to normal . . . good to go." For the 25-year-old Bolt, "good to go" usually means stunning performances like his world-record 9.69-sec- ond clocking in the 100 at the Beijing Olympics and a relaxed approach. His pre- race meal was chicken nuggets, a nutritionist's nightmare but, at least for him, the dinner of champi- ons. He lowered his record to 9.58 a year later in Berlin at the world championships and followed that four days later by breaking Michael Johnson's revered world record in the 200 with a Only his high-speed dri- ving antics, which have led to several car accidents, stand between him and utter adoration within his country and among fans around the world. A sport plagued by years of doping scandals and administrative bumbling couldn't hope for a more magnetic athlete to help repair its image while com- peting in the signature event for the title of world's fastest man. "He's the best thing to happen to track and field in my lifetime," Boldon said. "I think he has that ability to take the sport into a place where, coming back off the Marion Jones stuff and the Tim Montgomery stuff and the BALCO stuff, he really has been a breath of fresh air for the sport. "Bolt knows very well he cannot go to the Olympics and start like that. If he starts like that in the Olympic final, he loses. He may not even get second," Boldon said. "But the thing is, in his championships history, he does not start bad at champi- onships, the false start last year notwithstanding. "I don't know how he MCT file photo Bob Costas will be hosting his 10th Olympics. Costas finds place in Olympic history It's a milestone year for Bob Costas, the renowned sportscaster with deep St. Louis roots. He turned 60 in March and he's set to broadcast his 10th Olympics, starting Friday. He'll be the prime-time host for the ninth time, all for NBC, and he puts his outlook on these Summer Games, from England, in historical perspective — as he often does in his many broadcasting endeavors. "Every Olympics offers ST. LOUIS (MCT) — does it but he always seems to figure it out by then. He can be starting poorly the entire year, like he was in 2011, and somehow he finds a way to figure it out for the championships." "His personality is just a complement to his ability. His performances get your attention. His personality is what has kept the attention of the entire planet for the last four years." But Bolt's results at the Jamaican trials gained atten- tion for the wrong reasons. Blake, who won the 100- meter world title last year Tyson Gay, the American record holder in the 100, "extremely dangerous . . . sort of the overlooked guy," and capable of beating Bolt at that distance. "I think there's only one person who can beat him in the 200 and that's Blake," Boldon said. "In the 100 there's two or three." During a visit to Los Angeles last September Bolt said a world-record perfor- mance would be required to win gold in London. Boldon said he considers "My ultimate dream is to go to the Olympics and wow people," he said. "I want to be a legend." strikes again. He can be, if Lightning new possibilities, new challenges," he said at a recent news conference that detailed NBC's cover- age plans. "Being in Lon- don, one of the world's great cities, it has an Olympic history. It's the first city to host three Sum- mer Games. There's an Olympic history there. There's world history there. There's familiarity on the part of the American audience with some of what they'll see, and cul- tural affinity. "So there's a huge upside in this for us, and I'm looking forward to being there and being part of it." It's a monumental undertaking to be on the air for 17 consecutive nights, working into the wee hours because of the time differ- ence between London and the United States while performing a juggling act from sport to sport, provid- ing context to ongoing developments, doing inter- views and perhaps even having to present breaking news should major non- sports related develop- ments occur at the Games. One might think it would be an extremely tax- ing and massive task, but experience and cama- raderie help make things flow for Costas. "A lot of it, you're run- ning on adrenaline," he said. "And you're also feeding off the energy and the commitment and the talents of all the people who surround you. The host, whoever he or she may be, is carrying the ball for thousands of people, hundreds of whom I inter- act with on a daily or night- ly basis. So there's an ener- gy in the broadcast center. There's an energy at the Olympic Stadium. That's part of it. But also, once you get to the Olympic city and once you shake off the jet lag and get into whatev- er your sleeping pattern is going to be — and it's dif- ferent from Olympics to Olympics — the saving grace here is that you're not doing anything else." To that end, he says he's able to have a fairly normal schedule when he's off the air. hours," he said. "You get up. Maybe I have half an hour to get on the treadmill for a while. And you shave, you shower and you go back in. And you spend the rest of the time at the broadcast center. So with rare exception — if some- thing momentous happens and they have to change your schedule — I've usu- ally gotten a halfway decent night's sleep and then you just go on adrena- line and you know that you're surrounded by peo- ple who are damn good at their jobs and they're going to pick you up if there's something that you're not up to speed (about), they're going to get you up to speed. "I sleep seven or eight $99 Blinds Need Blinds? C A L L P A U L Blinds & Draperies www.nsbd.biz Lic.#906022 527-0842 North State Paul Stubbs Flooring Commercial ~ Residential Tim Mowris Floors • Install and/of Repair Carpet • Vinyl • Tile •Subfloor Licensed and Insured 33 years experience (530) 200-2371 Cont. Lic#515214 Print Runs Every Tuesday - Thursday- Saturday On-Line runs 7 days a week, On-Line Print and No early cancellation, non-refundable Clock Repair Contractor When you want it done right ... HIRE A LICENSED CONTRACTOR! Complete directory of Tehama County contractors online, listed by specialty on 2011 Contractors Guide under "Special Sections" www.RedBluffDailyNews.com Click on Advertisement 527-2151 For more information If this was your Service Directory ad customers would be reading it right now!! Call us at 530-736-7079 Grandpa's Clocks 20910 Pebblestone Dr. Red Bluff Jim Paul Electrical clocks Call for appt. Mechanical, Battery and Member NAWCC Landscape/Fence & Landscape Service Steve's Tractor • Fence Building • Landscaping • Trenching • Rototilling • Disking • Mowing • Ridging • Post Hole Digging • Blade Work • Sprinkler Installation • Concrete Work Cont. Lic. #703511 Steve Dyke 385-1783 Your Clock Repair Shop Tehama Country Real Estate section Residential • Commerical PATIOS • DECKS Construction Remodel, Construction Burrows FREE ESTIMATES & REFRENCES Lic#824770 Water and Dryrot Damage Specialist, New Construction Foundation to Finish New Additions, Siding Repair and Replacement, Ph: (530) 515-9779 Plumbing/Handyman Jim the Plumber and Handyman Services 25 years experience Free Estimates Free Travel Time See Angie's List No Job to small Quality work ...cheaper! Local References (530)366-6033 24 hour service Lic#11003 Save on all units 10x15 $55.00 per mo. 10x20 $70.00 per mo. Prices good for 6 months Exp. 12-01-12 528-1456 BAKER ROAD STORAGE Construction n o • Plumbing • Drywall Repairs • Fences • Decks • Concrete • Garages House Remodel / Specialist Rental Turnovers / Repairs Bathroom Remodels / Tile Painting • Electrical Quality at a reasonable price FREE ESTIMATES 530 949-6162 Storage CA LIC#914460 Tractor Service Tractor Dan "Have Tractor-Will Travel" Mow (Rotary or Flail) Till - Disk - Rip - Harrow Load - Light Hauling Gannon Box - Float Dan Marshall Owner/ Operator Insured Tehama County Resident since 1958 (530) 527-1437 Advertisement 527-2151 For more information If this was your Service Directory ad customers would be reading it right now!! Call us at 3B 24 hours a day at www.redbluffdailynews.com in the n A o l l i t e c n u s t s C r