![\"Sprinter](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/trackchill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Sprinter-Shadow3.png\" "\\"Sprinter")
<\/a>The defeat of Usain Bolt at the Jamaican Trials has not changed the Olympic 100 meters. Why? Because as I’ve said before Bolt has always been beatable. It’s not easy to do, and not everyone has the ability, but it’s always been possible. It requires two things: a sprinter with serious top end speed and a killer finish; and an average\/typical start by Bolt.<\/p>\nWhile the perception of Bolt over the last four years has been that he is Superman and invincible, his \u201cdefeatablility\u201d has always been there. The issue isn\u2019t that something has suddenly changed, but that the top sprinters don’t race enough for these things to come into play on a regular basis!<\/p>\n
This is the first head to head for Bolt and Blake since Blake has \u201carrived\u201d as an elite sprinter – about two years. Bolt and Gay have met three times in four years at this distance and sit at 2 to 1 – the only possible outcome unless one dominated the other. Bolt\u2019s aura of invincibility has been augmented by the fact that he has twice won on the sport\u2019s biggest stages – Beijing \u201808 and Berlin \u201809 – and both times in WR time. <\/p>\n
But if you examine those races, in Beijing he was clearly the class of the field, as the only man able to challenge him at the time (Tyson Gay) was injured. In Berlin he benefited from perhaps the best start of his career, leading even super starter Asafa Powell at 10 meters! With his 6\u20195\u201d frame (i.e. stride length) and top end speed, that race was already over. But in some ways that race prefaced yesterday\u2019s outcome.<\/p>\n
I say this because Bolt was clearly working on \u201cgetting out\u201d in the rounds (knowing that Tyson Gay has \u201cserious top end and a killer finish\u201d) as he false started. This was a year before the implementation of the current false start rule however, so there was simply a reset of the race and there was no disqualification. That\u2019s important because Bolt, and everyone else, were able to \u201chedge their bets\u201d slightly knowing that if they were wrong, they got a second chance. That ability to \u201chedge\u201d allowed Bolt to \u201cnail\u201d the start in the final (and get out ahead of the top end of Tyson Gay) that led to his being ahead from step one and achieve the WR 9.58 victory. <\/p>\n
That ability to \u201chedge\u201d was taken away in 2010. The result being the head to head with Tyson Gay in Stockholm that found Bolt with an \u201caverage\u201d start, and behind Gay early. Gay being a sprinter with \u201cserious top end and a killer finish\u201d, was able to hold off the Big Man and achieve the win. <\/p>\n
Bolt\u2019s next \u201cbig race\u201d post \u201cfalse start rule change\u201d was in Daegu, where he was to face new stud Yohan Blake – he too possessing \u201cserious top end and a killer finish\u201d. Bolt again was looking to \u201cnail\u201d the start to get out ahead of the top end of Blake – but misjudged and got the DQ. Blake running away to a clear victory in Bolt\u2019s absence. <\/p>\n
Which takes us to yesterday\u2019s race – the next \u201cbig race\u201d for Bolt. A false start in Kingston leaves the Big Man home, so there is no attempt to \u201chedge\u201d. The resultant \u201caverage\u201d start for Bolt leaves him trying to come back against the \u201cserious top end and killer finish\u201d of Yohan Blake. And as we all now know, Blake held him off for the PR win. Take note that Blake\u2019s margin of victory (.11), is nearly the same as Gay\u2019s Stockholm margin of victory (.13). <\/p>\n
Before I go further, I\u2019m sure there are two statements\/questions on the table. One I\u2019m sure is that some will say that Bolt has raced former WR holder Asafa Powell several times between 2008 and yesterday – inferring that those were also \u201cbig races\u201d. I am going to disagree with the labeling of those as \u201cbig races\u201d on two counts. One is that Powell has never shown to be a big race \/ big meet competitor. Two is that Powell does not fit the mold of someone able to defeat Bolt – serious top end and killer finish. Powell is just the opposite – killer start and above average top end. Which is why Bolt, like Gay, Gatlin, and Blake, has consistently run him down to defeat him in the final stages. And why in all their racing Powell has won just once, and then by a mere .01 – and that was four years ago.<\/p>\n
The other statement\/question is the matter of calling Bolt\u2019s starts in those races \u201caverage\u201d, because many will say that he was clearly behind. But if you take a look at Bolt\u2019s competitive history in the event, that IS his average start. He either nails the start and runs away from the field – New York \u201808, Berlin \u201809 – or he is slightly behind the field at the start. Which is what one would expect from a 6\u20195\u201d sprinter! Again, Bolt benefited from hitting his start twice while the TV cameras were running. So many might thing that that is normal when in fact it has been an anomaly.<\/p>\n
Now Bolt isn\u2019t your average 6\u20195\u201d sprinter, because he\u2019s got crazy turnover in those long legs – which is why he runs 9.7\/9.8 on demand. That\u2019s why he runs down your \u201cnon-studs\u201d with ease, and when he nails the start he is capable of 9.58. But when you take a look at his top 5 times taking out the \u201csuper starts\u201d of New York and Berlin, his top competition compares quite well:<\/p>\n