Just as Usain Bolt is returning, his top Jamaican rival is back on the shelf.
Olympic 100m and 200m silver medalist Yohan Blake will not race again in 2014 after recent surgery on an injured hamstring, his coach, Glen Mills, told Reuters.
Blake, who missed most of last season with a hamstring injury, pulled up and fell to the track in a 100m race in Glasgow, Scotland, on July 11 (video here). He was wheeled off the track in a chair but told at least one reporter he suffered a cramp.
“The injury was quite severe and the original prognosis was misdiagnosed and he went Germany and when they had a good look, they realized that it was more serious and required surgery, so he’ll be out for quite a long time,” Mills said.
Blake, 24, beat Bolt in the 2012 Jamaican Olympic Trials 100m and 200m. He is the second-fastest man all time in both events and was, in 2012, seen as the future of sprinting given Bolt and Americans Justin Gatlin and Tyson Gay were all at least three years older.
The hamstring injuries and mediocre results this season have dimmed the outlook on Blake, who will have plenty to prove when he returns to the track.
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