Tokyo Olympics 2021: 5 potential contenders for Usain Bolt's crown
13 years ago, at the Beijing Olympics. little did the world know about a boy from Sherwood Content, a small town on the northern tip of Jamaica. To be fair, there wasn't much reason to take note of Usain Bolt during the initial years of his career.
A torn hamstring led to a disastrous outing at the 2004 Athens Olympics. After that disappointment, he wanted to shift his focus to a different category, one where his coaches considered him a misfit because of his tall stature. But Bolt wanted to give it a shot and successfully persuaded his coach, Glen Mills. Subsequently, in July 2007, he pulled off a feat of of epic proportions.
The then 20-year old won the 100m event at an athletics meet in Crete, with an incredible timing of 10.03s in his very first attempt.
Why was that a big deal? To put it into perspective, only around 50 athletes had ever crossed the elusive 10-second barrier prior to that. He came that close in his very first go, despite not having the years of extensive sprint training that's usually required. It was the calm before the storm.
A year later, in only his fifth competitive race, he shattered the world record with a timing of 9.72s. Three months later, at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he was ready for redemption. Beijing's Bird's Nest Stadium was struck by "The Lightning of Bolt", who devastated his opponents in the final with a world record time of 9.69s!
Bolt went on to make history as the only athlete to win both the 100m and 200m events at three consecutive Olympics (2008, 2012 and 2016), thereby achieving immortality.
Ever since Bolt hung up his running spikes in 2017, no one has even come remotely close to challenging his numerous records. With the field blown wide open in his absence, spectators around the world are hoping to witness a worthy replacement for Bolt's throne.
To be honest, we can't conclusively say that there's a clear favorite in Tokyo. The odds were favoring the current world 100m champion, USA's Christian Coleman. That was until the American was handed a two-year ban for violating anti-doping whereabouts rules.
Let's look at some possible contenders for the blue ribbon event at the Tokyo Olympics 2021:
#5 Yohan Blake, Jamaica
PB: 9.69s | SB: 9.98s
The second-fastest man of all time may well be miles away from his glory days. But if anyone can retain Jamaica's supremacy, look no further than Yohan "The Beast" Blake. He qualified for his third Olympics by finishing second behind Tyquendo Tracey at the Jamaican Championships in June.
Blake finished second at London 2012, a year after his sensational World Championship triumph at Daegu, where Bolt was disqualified. Even though his best performance this season is just a stroll (9.98s), his rich experience will come in handy in mounting a genuine threat to the Americans.
#4 Ronnie Baker, USA
PB: 9.85s | SB: 9.85s
American Ronnie Baker has already etched his name in the record books as the third-fastest 60m sprinter in history. Even though his career has been plagued by untimely injuries, he seems to be peaking just in time for the Tokyo Olympics.
Baker clocked a personal best of 9.85s during the U.S. selection trials in June, making him the third-fastest sprinter this season. In the recently concluded Monaco Diamond League, he clocked 9.91s to seal victory against a star-studded lineup.
During an interview with World Athletics earlier this year, he made his intentions clear, stating that his goal was to make the Olympics team and then get a medal at Tokyo.
With the first phase of that goal complete, can Baker finish the task at hand? Only time will tell.