Special Moment: When Blake became the youngest 100m world champion | Loop Jamaica

Black Immigrant Daily News

Sunday, August 28, 2011 is a day that will be etched in the memory of Yohan Blake. The day was agony for another Jamaican – Usain Bolt.

On that day, Blake became the new world champion when he won the final of the men’s 100 metres at the World Athletics Championships in Daegu, South Korea.

His 25-year-old training partner, Bolt, became victim of the zero tolerance false-start rule and in the end the 100m final of the World Championships started without any of the eight fastest men in the world that year. Two were suspended for doping, two were injured, three failed to qualify and Bolt, the most important of all, was standing on the sidelines, racked with anger and disbelief after he false-started.

Blake clocked 9.92 seconds for the victory to lead home American Walter Dix (10.08) and 2003 World champion Kim Collins (10.09) of St Kitts & Nevis.

The winning time was quick, especially into a headwind. The Jamaica created history on the day. At 21 years, 245 days, Blake became the youngest 100m world champion ever, surpassing American Carl Lewis, who won the event at the 1983 World Championships at the age of 22 years, 38 days.

Blake was in the lane outside Bolt, and he said that in the seconds that followed the disqualification he had only one thought in his mind. “Keep focused. Get the job done for Jamaica.”

In the end it seemed the blame lay with Bolt’s desire to cure the one real weakness in his technique, his slow start. He ran 10.05 seconds in the semi-finals earlier in the evening and did not look as impressive as he had in the heats.

Blake qualified for the final in 9.95 seconds, which would have added to the pressure Bolt was feeling after a season in which he has never hit top form because he has been struggling with his persistent back injury.

While Blake had sympathy for his training partner he nevertheless was overwhelmed by his unexpected triumph on the day.

“I don’t think I can find words to explain it, I feel like I want to cry,” he said. “I have been praying for this moment, this is all a dream for me right now.

“Usain Bolt has been there for me. I felt I would win the race for Bolt.”

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