Jamaican sprinter Yohan Blake will not be fit enough to defend his 100m title in Moscow in August, according to reports in Jamaica.
Blake, 23, won the 100m title in Daegu, South Korea, two years ago after Usain Bolt was disqualified for a false start and has been selected in the Jamaican team as a wildcard pick despite being unable to compete at the National Championships last weekend.
‘The Beast’ as he’s fondly called failed to qualify for the 200m in Moscow because he could not run in the Jamaican trials, as his compatriot and training partner Bolt hopes to defend his title in that category in August.
Blake has now been reported unfit to compete at the world championships. He has been has been struggling with a hamstring injury since pulling up at the UTech Classic on April 13.
“He is definitely out of the World Championship,” a senior athletics official told Jamaica’s Sunday Observer. “He will not be part of Jamaica’s squad.
“Yohan will have 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.”
However, the world 200 champion’s agent, Cubie Seegobin, insisted no decision has yet been made on whether Blake will be able to defend his 100m title.
He told Reuters: “The coach (Glen Mills) has not yet decided on pulling him from the world championships. No decision has been made about Yohan missing the world championships.
“There is absolutely no discussions or plans for any surgery and I don’t know where the information is coming from.”
