Bolt and Blake in Brussels Battle

Jamaican sprinters Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake aim to finish the season on a high at Friday's final Diamond League meeting of the year in Brussels.

However, the duo will not compete against each other with Bolt going in the 100m and Blake racing in the 200m.

Blake, who ran 19.26 seconds at the same stadium last year, is chasing another quick time in Belgium.

"My 200m is getting much better," he said. "I kept my body in good condition to finish the season on a high."

The Jamaican, who won 4x100m relay gold and 100m and 200m silver medals at the London 2012 Olympics, ran the joint third fastest 100m last month in Lausanne.

The 22-year-old's time of 9.69 seconds matched American Tyson Gay's mark from 2009 and was just 0.11 outside of Bolt's world record.

Blake also ran the second-quickest 200m in history 12 months ago at Brussels' King Baudouin Stadium, where the track has some of the widest corners on the circuit.

Outside of the Olympics and World Championships, it has seen three of the four fastest 200m times, and three of the overall top 10.

"Everyone remembers Yohan's race because it was a shocker to everyone," said Bolt, who is keen to end his season by lowering his own 100m stadium record of 9.76 seconds.

"My body is getting there but I got one more run in me," he said. "I'm drained now. I'm drawing blanks."

Bolt has already won this year's 100m Diamond League trophy ahead of the 14th and final meet of the season, while fellow Jamaican Nickel Ashmeade has won the 200m competition.

Britain's Olympic long jump champion Greg Rutherford has pulled out with an injury but his team-mate Chris Tomlinson will feature.

Other British athletes competing in Belgium include pole vaulter Holly Bleasdale, 400m hurdler Perri Shakes-Drayton, 800m trio Marilyn Okoro, Lynsey Sharp and Jemma Simpson, 5,000m runner Julia Bleasdale and 400m sprinter Martyn Rooney.

Top 10 fastest 200m times

19.19 secs - Usain Bolt (Jam) Berlin, 2009

19.26 - Yohan Blake (Jam) Brussels, 2011

19.30 - Usain Bolt (Jam) Beijing, 2008

19.32 - Michael Johnson (US), Atlanta 1996, Usain Bolt (Jam) London, 2012

19.40 - Usain Bolt (Jam) Daegu, 2011

19.44 - Yohan Blake (Jam) London, 2012

19.53 - Walter Dix (US) Brussels, 2011

19.56 - Usain Bolt (Jam) Kingston, 2010

19.57 - Usain Bolt (Jam) Brussels, 2009

Related articles

• Bolt Wins 200 Meters Gold
• Blake looking to upstage Bolt in Brussels again
• Usain Bolt was back in style but Yohan Blake steals the show
• Hands off the 200m, Bolt tells Blake
• International Capsules: Pistorius surrenders another Paralympic title

Blake Joins Fastest 100M

Yohan Blake ran the joint-third fastest time in 100m history as fellow Jamaican Usain Bolt eased to 200m victory in the Diamond League meeting in Lausanne.

Blake, who won silver in both the 100m and 200m at London 2012, ran 9.69 seconds, beating American Tyson Gay into second place.

Only Bolt, the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay champion in London,has ever run faster over the shorter distance.

"I have been sick all week, thank God I recovered," Blake told BBC3.

"I have more races and I'm going to get better and better."

Compatriots Bolt and Blake have decided not to compete against each other for the remainder of the season, meaning the Swiss crowd were unable to see a repeat of their showdowns at London 2012.

But 22-year-old Blake added: "I would run with Usain any day, he's my training partner. I would love to run with him, but they have to put up big money."

Blake's time was 0.06 seconds better than his previous best and Bolt admitted he knew his training partner was going to run a quick time.

"I could tell Yohan would run fast, I've seen him in training," Bolt, 26, said. "I predicted 9.72, but he went a little bit faster."

Bolt himself was not troubled on his way to 200m victory in 19.58 seconds with Churandy Martina of the Netherlands second with 19.85 and Jamaican Nickel Ashmeade third with 19.94.

He added: "It's a good run, it's the end of season so I'm having some fun."

Elsewhere, Great Britain's Robbie Grabarz claimed a new national record in the high jump with a leap of 2.37m as the Olympic bronze medallist finished third again.

In a highly competitive event, Moutaz Essa Barshim Ahmed of Qatar jumped 2.39m to claim victory.

Another Briton, Lawrence Okoye, threw 65.27m in the discus to finish second behind Estonian Gerd Kanter, who threw 65.79m.

Aries Merritt of America, who won gold at London 2012, was disqualified from the 110m hurdles after false starting in an event won by compatriot Jason Richardson.

Fastest 100m Times

9.58 - Usain Bolt (Jam) Berlin 2009

9.63 - Usain Bolt (Jam) London 2012

9.69 - Usain Bolt (Jam) Beijing 2008

9.69 - Tyson Gay (USA) Shanghai 2009

9.69 - Yohan Blake (Jam) Lausanne 2012

No More Blake and Bolt This Season

Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake will not race against each other again this season, Blake's manager has indicated.

Bolt claimed victories over his young rival and training partner in the 100 metres and 200 metres at the Olympic Games, a reversal of what happened at the Jamaicen trials earlier in the year.

The pair teamed up to help set a world record as Jamaica claimed gold in the 4x100m relay.

Bolt is due to contest the 200 metres at the Diamond League meeting in Lausanne on August 23, while Blake will run in the 100 metres.

They will race over those same distances Zurich on August 30 before swapping for the Brussels event the following week.

"I always love running against him," said Blake. "But ask my manager, who really knows the business."

Blake's manager, Cubee Seegobin, said: "Coach (Glenn) Mills gives Yohan a programme and it's tailored according to people's wishes. It's something for the managers, the meeting director and sponsors.

"And I don't think of it in terms of confrontation but in terms of what the organiser offers."

Related articles

• Usain Bolt wins 200 metres gold
• Jamaica Bolt to New World Record
• Lightning Usain Bolt strikes twice and makes Olympic history with successive wins

Jamaica Bolt to New World Record

Usain Bolt and Jamaica set a new world record of 36.84 seconds in winning Olympic gold in the men's 4x100 metres relay.

The sprint superstar made it a hat-trick of Olympic titles for the second successive Games as he led his team-mates home before seemingly pay his own tribute to double Olympic champion Mo Farah by performing the 'Mobot' celebration as he crossed the line.

Nesta Carter, Michael Frater and then double silver medallist Yohan Blake gave Bolt the lead he scarcely needed to hold off the United States in second.

Canada thought they had claimed bronze but were disqualified after Jared Connaughton ran outside his lane on the third leg, leaving Trinidad and Tobago to finish third.

Treble treble?

Bolt was asked if he could do the 'treble-treble' by winning the 100m, 200m and 4x100m again in four years' time, having achieved the feat first in Beijing and now in London.

He is not convinced it is possible.

Bolt said on BBC1: "I've thought about it but I think it's going to be very hard because Yohan, he's just come into the game and he's running pretty well, and I'm sure there's going to be a lot more cats coming up to run.

"I'm just happy. I'll take it a step at a time."

Asked whether he would run more often in Britain if tax laws change - a factor in him having stayed away in the past - Bolt said: "As soon as the law changes I'll be here all the time.

"I love being here, I have so many Jamaican fans here and it's wonderful."

Bolt Breaks Blake 200m Hopes

Usain Bolt cemented his status as an Olympic legend by overcoming fellow Jamaican and training partner Yohan Blake to defend his 200 metres crown at London 2012.

Already considered a legend for winning triple gold in Beijing and defending his 100m title here on Sunday, Bolt insisted he needed to win his favourite event again in order to earn that status.

And the 25-year-old did just that as he became the first man ever to win the Olympic sprint double twice in succession, clocking a winning time of 19.32 seconds to lead a Jamaican clean sweep ahead of 100m silver medallist Blake and Warren Weir

After sealing the double-double, Bolt told BBC1: "This is what I wanted and I got it. I'm very proud of myself. I had a rough season, I came out here and I did what I had to do.

"We've been working hard all season. We pushed ourselves, we pushed each other and we're happy."

Asked if he could have had a world record, Bolt added: "I think it was possible...but I guess I wasn't fit enough. I was fast but I wasn't fit enough.

"I came off the corner, I could feel the strain on my back a little bit so I was trying to keep my form, but I stopped running because I knew it wasn't going to be a world record. When I came off the corner I could feel it.

"It was hard. I really dedicated [myself] to my work, I know what London meant to me. I came here and I gave it my all and I'm proud of myself.

"I didn't get a world record - I really wanted to do it in the 200m - but I'm happy."

Blake said: "Usain Bolt has been motivating me all season. Everything has been going good so far."

Third-placed Weir added: "It's a great honour to come here and do what the country wanted, to get the top three.

"The love in London is very, very good.

Bolt Withdraws From Monaco Event

Usain Bolt has withdrawn from his final race before London 2012 after suffering a "slight" injury problem.

Bolt, 25, was scheduled to run the 200m at the Diamond League meet in Monaco on 20 July.

But the three-times Olympic gold medallist has withdrawn so he can undergo treatment.

His coach, Glen Mills, said he wanted to "give him sufficient time for treatment and time to train and prepare for the Olympic Games."

Despite the withdrawal, Bolt said he would be in London to defend his three Olympic titles, which also includes the 100m and the 4 x 100m relay gold he won in Beijing four years ago.

The world record-holder had his right hamstring stretched out on the track after finishing second to Yohan Blake in the 200m at the Jamaican Olympic trials last weekend.

He was also beaten by world champion Blake, who won in a time of 9.75 seconds, in the 100m in Kingston.

Blake's time was the fourth fastest in history.

The only people faster in the world are Bolt, who holds the world record of 9.58, American Tyson Gay, who has run 9.69, and Asafa Powell, whose quickest time is 9.72.

"I am happy to have earned my spot on the Jamaican Olympic team despite the challenge," said Bolt, who ran 9.76 in Italy in May.

"I will be in London to defend my titles in the 100, 200 and 4 x 100m.

"I want to congratulate my fellow Racers Track Club Members along with the other athletes who made the team. I thank everyone for their support."

Usain Hit by Blake Bolt Again

OSM News

Bolt Beaten by Blake in Kingston

Usain Bolt suffered a big upset in the 100m final at the Jamaican Olympic trials when he was beaten by Yohan Blake who clocked 9.75 seconds.

Blake stormed past defending Olympic champion Bolt - who ran 9.86 seconds - to set the year's fastest time and a personal best.

Former world record holder Asafa Powell was third with 9.88 seconds at Kingston's National Stadium.

The result sees all three men qualify for the London 2012 Olympics.

The 9.75 time also makes Blake the fourth fastest man of all time behind Bolt's world record of 9.58, American Tyson Gay's 9.69 and Asafa Powell's 9.72.

"No pressure at all... everything is good. I'm just fortunate," Blake said after beating his personal best of 9.82. "I'm the national champion of Jamaica now, I go into the Olympics like this."

Bolt was slow out of the blocks in both the final and earlier semi-final. He said afterwards of his start: "I had to ignore it. I had trouble getting out, but I kept feeling like I could not give up."

It was the first time Bolt and Blake had faced each other since Blake took the world title in Daegu last year after the Olympic champion was disqualified for a false start.

Bolt, who won Olympic gold in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay at the 2008 Games in Beijing, had held the fastest time in the world this year after clocking 9.76 in Rome last month.

In the semi-finals, it was Powell who clocked the fastest time of 9.92 seconds, with Blake third in the same race, behind Nesta Carter.

After a slow start Bolt eventually took the lead midway in his semi-final and won in 10.01, nosing out Michael Frater on 10.02.

In the women's 100m final, defending Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce broke the Jamaican record with a time of 10.70 seconds, with Veronica Campbell-Brown second and Kerron Stewart third.

Nearly 400 Jamaican athletes have been competing for about 60 berths in London in what could be the largest athletics delegation ever sent to an Olympics by the Caribbean nation.

Blake Keen on Powell Meeting

New world 100m champion Yohan Blake is keen to show Jamaican rival Asafa Powell his true worth at Thursday's Diamond League finals meet in Zurich.

Before missing the World Championships with injury, Powell said Blake, 21, was just a "boy" after beating him in the Jamaica nationals in June.

But Blake told BBC Sport: "He called me a boy but I'm running like a big man. It will be interesting [in Zurich]."

Powell says there is a good chance he would be world champion, had he raced.

Blake's compatriot Usain Bolt - the 100m and 200m world record holder - skips Thursday's event, known as the Weltklasse, giving the new champion centre stage for his first race since the pair helped Jamaica set a new 4x100m relay world record in South Korea.

Though Powell acknowledges Blake's achievement, he cannot stop thinking about what might have been had he not suffered a hip flexor problem - more so given he ran a year's best 9.78 seconds in June.

Powell told the BBC World Service: "Going into Daegu I was the man to beat, I was the man with the fastest time in the world this year.

"To not be able to run, I was very very disappointed.

"It was difficult to take because I won the Jamaican trials quite comfortably, quite easily. To know the same guys I finished in front of went and got the gold medal, it made me look at things and think, 'If I was there I might be world champion'.

"I always ask, 'Why me? Why does this keep happening over and over?'... [But] I'm very strong. It gives me a lot more motivation for the 2012 Olympics in London - and a lot more rest."

While injury-plagued Powell bemoaned his fate, Blake was lucky after the disqualification of dominant Bolt for false-starting was seen to have paved the way for his shock victory.

"Life has been good," Blake said on Wednesday.

"I can hardly walk some places but it's a wonderful feeling. I've been dreaming for this my whole life. I'm learning how to deal with it now.

"Things have changed for me. I have come to reality now that I am the world champion. It's not difficult to motivate myself, I've been running with these guys a lot. I know what I'm up against I want to execute a perfect race and stay number one."

Powell needs to run in the seventh and final 100m of the Diamond League season to qualify for his victory in the season-long standings.

The Zurich event has attracted the holders of 19 world championship gold medals, 18 silvers, and 15 bronzes from Daegu.