"Paris 2024 should be my last dance"- Yohan Blake to retire after the Olympics
Olympic medalist Yohan Blake announced in a recent interview that the 2024 edition of the Olympics which would be held in Paris would be his last Olympics.
Yohan Blake is one of the biggest names in track and field. With multiple laurels under his belt and fierce competitiveness with his former teammate, Blake proved his excellence in front of the world.
The former World Champion created history by winning the World Championship at the age of 21 in 2011. The World Championship win in 2011 made him emerge as a top contender at the London Olympic games.
In an interview with Inside the Games, Yohan Blake shed light on several topics, while revealing that the Paris Olympics would be his last Olympic campaign.
"Doing the 200, 100 and relays simply takes a lot out of you, so these are the events I want to focus on. Paris 2024 should be my last dance," he said. ( as quoted by insidethegames.biz)
With this revelation, Blake would join Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in their final Olympic Games appearance. Blake is all set to participate in the 100m, 200m and the 4x100m relay as he routinely does at every Games, provided he qualifies for the Jamaican Olympic trials which is set to happen later this year.
Yohan Blake's rise as an athlete
Yohan Blake started track and field when he was discovered by his school coach Carlton Solan. Blake was initially interested in pursuing cricket as a fast bowler. After starting track and field professionally, Blake rose in the Jamaican track and field circuit over the years.
As a junior sprinter, Yohan dominated races in Jamaica and even set the fastest time recorded by a junior Jamaican sprinter. He ran the 100m in a record 10.11 seconds back then. Blake would practice with legendary sprinter Usain Bolt under the guidance of coach Glenn Mills.
Yohan made headlines when he qualified for the finals of the 100m at the World Championships held in Daegu, South Korea. It was a highly anticipated race as Bolt and Blake were set to go head-to-head at a major event. Unfortunately, Bolt was disqualified due to a false start. Fans were disappointed to see an amazing race not go according to their expectations.
Blake viciously dominated the race and won it by clocking 9.92 seconds. This win made him the youngest 100m World Champion in the history of the sport.