Injured Blake vows to fight on

By Kayon Raynor

Disappointed by the premature end of his season to to surgery on his hamstring, 2011 world 100m champion Yohan Blake has vowed to “fight”.

Blake broke his silence via Facebook Tuesday night. “I am down but just a little. I’m still going to fight even harder for everyone who continues to support me,” he said in a message to his fans.

“I feel I owe it to the sport and the fans. Thanks for all the good wishes. It really means a lot,” added the Olympic 100m and 200m silver medallist .

Earlier, coach Mills had told RJR Sports that the double Olympic sprint silver medallist’s season had come to an abrupt end, after he underwent surgery on his injured hamstring in Germany in the last two days.

“Right now he’s on crutches, he had to do an operation a couple days day ago,” Mills disclosed.

“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 told Reuters.

Blake, 24, sustained the injury in the 100m at the Sainsbury’s Glasgow Grand Prix on July 11.

View the original article here

Injured Blake vows to fight on

"Don"t even trust yourself," Blake advises athletes

Sport

Paul ReidSunday, August 18, 2013

MOSCOW, Russia — With a number of high-profile athletes testing positive for banned substances in their system, former 2011 IAAF 100m world champion Yohan Blake is leaving nothing to chance and won’t trust anyone, not even himself.Blake, who was forced to watch from afar as training partner and compatriot Usain Bolt won the men’s 100m gold at the 14th IAAF World Championships at the Luzhniki Stadium here a week ago, while rehabbing his injured right leg, said he is not willing to take any chances.He was addressing a press conference with journalists from several countries at a Moscow hotel on Friday, and while refusing to be drawn into the discussion on the failed drug tests by fellow Jamaicans Asafa Powell and Sherone Simpson, he said athletes “have to be really careful and know the people who are around you”.Blake’s advice to athletes was not to even trust themselves. “You can’t trust anyone, not even yourself; when in doubt make sure everything you take is being tested (at a laboratory).”Powell and Simpson were among five Jamaican athletes who tested positive at the recent JAAA National Trials and are awaiting a hearing after their ‘B’ samples confirmed the positive results from the ‘A’ samples.Discus throwers Traves Smikle and Allison Randall, as well as a junior athlete also tested positive.Jamaica’s Yohan Blake as he watches action inside the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow yesterday. (PHOTO: GARFIELD ROBINSON)

HOUSE RULES

1. We welcome reader comments on the top stories of the day. Some comments may be republished on the website or in the newspaper – email addresses will not be published.

2. Please understand that comments are moderated and it is not always possible to publish all that have been submitted. We will, however, try to publish comments that are representative of all received.

3. We ask that comments are civil and free of libellous or hateful material. Also please stick to the topic under discussion.

4. Please do not write in block capitals since this makes your comment hard to read.

5. Please don’t use the comments to advertise. However, our advertising department can be more than accommodating if emailed:mailto:advertising@jamaicaobserver.com.

6. If readers wish to report offensive comments, suggest a correction or share a story then please email: community@jamaicaobserver.com.

7. Lastly, read our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy

comments powered by

View the original article here

"Don"t even trust yourself," Blake advises athletes

Blake pulls plug on track season

Sport

BY PAUL A REID Observer writer Friday, July 19, 2013

MONTEGO BAY, St James — There are indications that former IAAF World 100m champion Yohan Blake has called it a day on his injury ravaged season.Shortly after the announcement of his withdrawal from next month’s IAAF World Championships in Moscow, Russia, after failing to get over a hamstring injury he suffered in April this year, Blake released a statement that his season was over.“Unfortunately, I will be unable to defend my title this year at the World Championships in Moscow. I know this is very disappointing news for my fans and supporters, but please understand that pulling out was the best decision for me at this time,” the statement read.It continued: “I would like to thank you all for your love and support. I know that I have a long and bright future ahead of me, so I will see you guys next year on the track!”Blake, whose personal best 9.69 seconds set late last year makes him the joint second fastest man of all times with American Tyson Gay behind Usain Bolt, was injured while running a 100m race at the UTech Classic in mid-April and took an eight-week break before running a 200m just before the JAAA National Senior Trials. However, he later withdrew from the Trials as his management team said he was not fit enough to compete.As the winner of the men’s 100m gold medal at the most recent IAAF World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, in 2011, Blake had an automatic bye into the World Championships and was not obligated to compete at the National Trials.

HOUSE RULES

1. We welcome reader comments on the top stories of the day. Some comments may be republished on the website or in the newspaper – email addresses will not be published.

2. Please understand that comments are moderated and it is not always possible to publish all that have been submitted. We will, however, try to publish comments that are representative of all received.

3. We ask that comments are civil and free of libellous or hateful material. Also please stick to the topic under discussion.

4. Please do not write in block capitals since this makes your comment hard to read.

5. Please don’t use the comments to advertise. However, our advertising department can be more than accommodating if emailed:mailto:advertising@jamaicaobserver.com.

6. If readers wish to report offensive comments, suggest a correction or share a story then please email: community@jamaicaobserver.com.

7. Lastly, read our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy

comments powered by

View the original article here

Blake pulls plug on track season

BLAKE OUT! - To seek surgery for ‘sensitive’ injury — official

TOP Jamaican sprinter Yohan Blake will not defend his 100 metres title at the World Championship in Athletics in Moscow, Russia next August, the Sunday Observer understands.

Blake, who goes by the alias ‘the Beast’, pulled up lame before Jamaica’s National Athletic Championships, which serve as a trial for athletes hoping to represent this north Caribbean island at various international meets.“He is definitely out of the World Championship … he will not be part of Jamaica’s squad,” a senior athletics official told the Sunday Observer yesterday.“Yohan will have to do surgery soon, so there is no way that he can make the team. The injury is so sensitive that even if he is a real ‘Beast’ he cannot recover from it in time for the World Champs,” the official said.However, president of the Jamaica Administrative Athletic Association (JAAA) Dr Warren Blake said that he could not comment on the matter as he had not heard from the sprinter’s camp.“I have no comment at this time on that issue,” Dr Blake said yesterday.Blake, 23, no relation to the JAAA boss, won the gold medal in the 100 metres at the 2011 World Championship in the South Korean city of Daegu, after pre-race favourite, fellow Jamaican Usain Bolt, false-started in a major event for the first time in his career.Bolt’s compulsory withdrawal paved the way for the St James-born Blake to win his first major international medal when he left the field behind, as he took the event in 9.92 seconds over American Walter Dix (10.08) and veteran Kittitian, Kim Collins (10.09).There were early signs that Blake would not be ready for Moscow when his agent, Cubie Seegobin, issued a news release on June 18 saying: “Yohan’s coach (Glen Mills) is not satisfied with the progress of his injury, and hence his level of fitness will not allow him to compete at this time. We will continue to assess the situation and re-evaluate as we approach the World Championships.”Blake did not have to run the 100 metres at the National Championship to qualify for the event at the World Championship, as he automatically got a bye as defending champion. But he would have wanted to run the 200 metres, as well, at the local event to lineup alongside Bolt, the defending champion, in Moscow.Blake was also due to run at a meet in Edmonton, Canada, yesterday, but had to cancel.It is believed that the undisclosed injury that he sustained at a recent local meet was worse than initially thought.Blake has since been in contact with medical personnel in the United States who are examining the best option available to him, the official said.Jamaica’s sprint relay squad, which romped to victory at the London Olympic Games in a record 36.84 seconds, will thus be without two of its likely star attractions — Blake, and Asafa Powell, the latter having failed to make the squad to the championship, having finished seventh in the 100 metres.Powell, who did not compete in the sprint relay at the London Games, was thought to have been capable of getting into the top four — a passage that would have been made easier in the absence of Michael Frater, a part of the successful London 2012 quartet.Yohan Blake celebrates winning the 100m at the 2011 Daegu World Championships.

View the original article here

BLAKE OUT! - To seek surgery for ‘sensitive’ injury — official