Usain Bolt looked in fine shape for the Olympics by winning his last race before Rio de Janeiro on his return from injury. It wasn’t the best of my best but it was my first one (of the year), so I’m cool with that.
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“I thought it wasn’t flawless”, said Bolt after the Diamond League meet.
“At the end of the day, when you command a certain power in track and field, you sometimes have to exercise it. I think that’s what he’s doing.”
“If they feel like banning the whole team is the right action, then I am all for it”, Bolt said. So I’m happy I’ve come to London and execute and did well, so I’m really proud of myself. I am ready to defend my Olympics titles. “I’m happy that I didn’t get a really bad setback this season, it was up and down, but I could always train”.
Jamaica’s O’Dayne Richards will be hoping to improve on his season’s best of 20.82m when he lines up in the men’s shot put alongside Americans Joe Kovacs, Kurt Roberts and Darrell Hill; Germany’s David Storl, and Tom Walsh from New Zealand. For once Bolt’s athletics achievements were overshadowed.
However, it was quickly corrected to 12.20, one hundredth of a second faster than the mark set by Bulgaria’s Yordanka Donkova in 1988 – four years before Harrison was born. The Olympic Games provides them another stage on which to shine. But I can’t just stop my season; I’ll be going for the world record this season and getting as many Diamond League points as possible. I what to see where I’m at and what I can jump. For Ennis-Hill, this was ideal preparation ahead of the heptathlon competition.
The newly-laid track at the Olympic Stadium was clearly very fast and Great Britain’s women’s 4x100m relay team gave themselves a major pre-Olympic boost by setting a new national record and running the fastest time in the world this year.
Laura Muir produced a gusty, determined run in the women’s 1500m. I know I’m in good shape so I’m not really anxious about that, it’s just about execution now. “I didn’t want to hang back”. “To run the British record is sensational”.
Christine Ohuruogu emphatically justified her inclusion in the British team for the individual 400m in Rio by running the fastest time in the country this year at 51.05, although it was only good enough for fifth. Brazil came in second, with France in third. Holland, winners of the European title earlier this month in Amsterdam, bungled up the changeovers and did not finish the race.
“We’ll do everything to bring joy back to the Brazilian people”, the Barcelona star said.
The only complaints Bolt had were targeted at American rivals who had lightly suggested – not strongly – that he got preferential treatment by being allowed to skip the Jamaican trials.
Henry, who ran the second leg, said: “Oh my god, this told the rest of the world that in Rio 2016 we are coming for a medal”.
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Fellow heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson set a personal best of 1.95m in the high jump before going on to fail in her attempt to set a British record 1.98m.
