Blake Wants To Be The Best
Published: Tuesday | March 5, 2013
Sprinter Yohan Blake
André Lowe, Senior Staff Reporter
World 100 metres champion, Yohan Blake, has made his ambitions clear. The double Olympic sprint silver medallist is looking to go one better, with his eyes firmly fixed on sprinting's top spot - currently occupied by double world record holder and Olympic champion Usain Bolt.
Blake, who was yesterday announced by organisers as the first big signing for the Samsung Diamond League series opener in Doha on Friday, May 10, said he is working hard to climb on top of the heap, with the Doha stop being a crucial part of his plans for the season.
"I am the second fastest man in the world at the moment," Blake admitted. "My ambition is to become the best. I have to continue working very hard for that. Anything is possible."
Blake did beat Bolt twice at the national trials in the build-up to last year's Olympic Games, but had to play second fiddle to sprinting's poster boy in London.
looking forward
The 23-year-old sprinter will be making his first Diamond League appearance on Asian soil and is also looking forward to his first trip to the Doha meet, which has led off the cash-rich series since its first staging in 2010.
"This will be my first time in Qatar and I am looking forward to going to Doha for my first Diamond League appearance on the Asian continent," said Blake, who goes by the moniker 'The Beast'.
With personal bests of 9.69 over 100m and 19.26 in the 200m, Blake said he will be gunning for the current meeting record, which stands at 9.85; set in 2006 by Olusoji Fasuba.
"I have heard about the fast track in Doha and I hope to break the meeting record. I always want to surprise the audience, everywhere I go," Blake said.
IAAF Vice-President and Qatar Association of Athletics Federation Chairman, Dahlan Jumaan Al Hamad, expressed his excitement over Blake's upcoming appearance:
"We are really looking forward to welcoming Yohan in Doha and to see the reigning 100m World champion competing at the Hamad Bin Suhaim Stadium.
"The fourth Samsung Diamond League season will commence once again in Doha and we are aiming to welcome a world-class field. The conditions here are excellent and we are aware that athletes love to compete in Qatar," stated Al Hamad, who also serves as the chairman of the Doha 2013 Organising Committee
Published: Tuesday | March 5, 2013
Sprinter Yohan Blake
André Lowe, Senior Staff Reporter
World 100 metres champion, Yohan Blake, has made his ambitions clear. The double Olympic sprint silver medallist is looking to go one better, with his eyes firmly fixed on sprinting's top spot - currently occupied by double world record holder and Olympic champion Usain Bolt.
Blake, who was yesterday announced by organisers as the first big signing for the Samsung Diamond League series opener in Doha on Friday, May 10, said he is working hard to climb on top of the heap, with the Doha stop being a crucial part of his plans for the season.
"I am the second fastest man in the world at the moment," Blake admitted. "My ambition is to become the best. I have to continue working very hard for that. Anything is possible."
Blake did beat Bolt twice at the national trials in the build-up to last year's Olympic Games, but had to play second fiddle to sprinting's poster boy in London.
looking forward
The 23-year-old sprinter will be making his first Diamond League appearance on Asian soil and is also looking forward to his first trip to the Doha meet, which has led off the cash-rich series since its first staging in 2010.
"This will be my first time in Qatar and I am looking forward to going to Doha for my first Diamond League appearance on the Asian continent," said Blake, who goes by the moniker 'The Beast'.
With personal bests of 9.69 over 100m and 19.26 in the 200m, Blake said he will be gunning for the current meeting record, which stands at 9.85; set in 2006 by Olusoji Fasuba.
"I have heard about the fast track in Doha and I hope to break the meeting record. I always want to surprise the audience, everywhere I go," Blake said.
IAAF Vice-President and Qatar Association of Athletics Federation Chairman, Dahlan Jumaan Al Hamad, expressed his excitement over Blake's upcoming appearance:
"We are really looking forward to welcoming Yohan in Doha and to see the reigning 100m World champion competing at the Hamad Bin Suhaim Stadium.
"The fourth Samsung Diamond League season will commence once again in Doha and we are aiming to welcome a world-class field. The conditions here are excellent and we are aware that athletes love to compete in Qatar," stated Al Hamad, who also serves as the chairman of the Doha 2013 Organising Committee