Blake - wow

Blake ran 19.26 in Brussels to record the second fastest time ever over 200m.

19.26 ! That's crazy

I thought only Bolt and perhaps Gay could get anywhere near a time like that.

Surely this will make the shorter sprints in London 2012 even more exciting.



emancipator

The sprints are going to get crazy...

Blake has something about him that is crazy - in fact, scary even. I think Powell looks like he won't even be getting a bronze in London.

The mechanics behind both Gay and Blake's sprinting is phenomenal. They must be pushing close to what their bodies can actually handle, before the joints, tendons etc fly apart. I think Bolt has the physical stature to go that fast, without breaking himself ( though he'll still be susceptible to injuries just like any athlete ). But watching Gay run 9.69 or low 9.7s shows to me how close he pushes body to its mechanical limit. Not sure he can go that much faster; and Blake - he looked like his body was out of control in that 200m...but phenomenal...

Bolt's got a lot to think about

Indeed..

suddenly a sub-20 200m looks even more possible.

We may be getting a sub19 secs clocking in London, if conditions permit. Bolt won't be running against the clock...he'll be running as hard as he can just to make sure he gets the Olympic title. The time will come - but the win is more important; no point going sub19secs and only getting second...imagine that

And the guy who came 2nd was 19.5 aswell (personal best), he was pretty piissed off about the result despite running 3rd quickest time of the year! Seriously though, if he's on steroids I wouldn't be surprised either... as I wasn't surprised when Gatlin and Marion Jones were found to be on..

In swimming the high tech suits transformed the sport - with thousands of records being broken - they have now abandoned them and returned to the old textiles.

I noticed that Blake seems to wear elasticated shorts that reach down tight towards his knees. I have also noticed athletes using what appears to be strapping between the lower back and the back of the legs (e.g. Lemaitre). I am wondering whether this gives the leg extra "spring" and hence the athlete an advantage.

There's increasing levels of science involved, getting out that extra 2 or 3%. Who knows...there are a combination of sound and dubious approaches to performance enhancement..for example, Farah in the US, is showing us some of the interesting techniques for helping to develop an athlete like him; Michael Johnson shows an incredible knowledge of the science of the sport, particularly in terms of some of the mechanical issues related to the body; while at the other end of the spectrum, there are PED's etc...

With Blake now emerging as a 'monster' talent, that Jamaican 4x100m relay squad is looking like it could set a WR at London, if everyone is there, fit - very likely sub 37secs, possibly as low as 36.6 or 36.7?!

The conditions were just perfect, and he ran the perfect race. Anyone spot room for improvement on Blake? He was so relaxed down that straight. Perfect running.

If only he'd be that relaxed when racing against Bolt... Next year.... Gay-Dix-Bolt-Blake-Spearman... Anyone else to join the elite 200m field?

That is if Spearman and Gay come back the same athletes as they were before. X-man Carter has lost it, it seems.

Room for improvement on Blake?!

Over the 200m, he's still young, and will get stronger, so - barring injury - it's highly likely he could go faster; 19.1s?! Thought his transition out of the bend into the straight was not as great as it could've been...or may be it only seemed that way as Dix himself was running so well. That was one hell of a run from DIX [ who could've gone faster, and clearly ran an amazing 150m up till then, but seemed to run out of steam over the last 40 - 50m. ]...

Over the 100m, Blake can go 9.7s - possibly high 9.6s; if conditions are good. Any faster, he might do himself an injury