Bolt bewildered by double bid
2008-08-05 13:06
Beijing - Jamaica's world 100m record holder Usain Bolt touched down in China on Tuesday apparently unaware that he will be going for an Olympic sprint double.
Despite agent Norman Peart and coach Glen Mills both having confirmed this week that Bolt would race the 100m and 200m in Beijing, the sprinter seemed genuinely in the black when informed of his likely schedule.
"It's not exactly decided," Bolt initially told reporters when asked if he was ready for an assault on the sprint double. "I'm 80% sure. My coach hasn't really told me."
When told that coach Mills had indeed confirmed that he was to double up, Bolt was momentarily thrown before saying: "He didn't actually communicate that to me.
"It's the first miscommunication I've had with my coach. I hope it doesn't happen again," he said, adding that Mills was a like a "second father" to him.
The 21-year-old Bolt is seeking to become the Caribbean's first 100m champion since Trinidad's Hasely Crawford in 1976, but is also one of the firm favourites for the 200m.
Bolt surprised everyone by breaking the 100m world record set by compatriot Asafa Powell, running 9.72sec in New York on May 31.
Powell rebounded to beat Bolt in last month's meet in Stockholm - their last before the Olympics, and the Jamaican duo will face stiff opposition from the American trio of reigning double sprint champion Tyson Gay, Walter Dix and Wallace Spearmon.
- AFP