Olympic legends back Blake to upset Bolt

Tuesday, 31 July 2012 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Maurice Greene and Edwin Moses have both won two Olympic gold medals in track & field. Both also believe Jamaican Yohan Blake will cause a major upset in London over countryman Usain Bolt.

Greene told SMH that Bolt might keep his 200m title, but his dominance in the 100m sprint would be threatened by emerging talent, Blake.

“Blake is just a little bit better and if you go back and look at the Jamaican trials they say Bolt had a bad start,” Green said.

“But look at Blake too. He was right back there with Bolt, they both had bad starts and Blake was still able to come out victorious in that race.

“Blake is going to win.”

Moses, who won gold in 400m hurdles at the Montreal and Los Angeles Games, as well as a bronze medal at Seoul in 1988, similarly tips Blake to bring bolt crashing back down to earth.

“In track and field, we have a saying that stuff happens and you are only as good as your last race,” he said.

“I think he [Blake] is the man to beat.”

Bolt, who rightfully earned the tag of ‘the fastest man in the world’ has had a tumultuous build up to the 2012 Olympic Games.

A less than impressive World Championships last year, a shock loss to Blake at the Jamaican Olympic trials and a niggling hamstring injury has led many to doubt Bolt’s chances of defending his gold medal winning performance in Beijing.

But Greene, who also suggested a new 100m world record of 9.4 seconds isn’t impossible, thinks those much publicized issues in the Bolt camp, are irrelevant. “Bolt is healthy now, there is no problem with injuries or anything else. He is just trying to fix the problems he is having, and he has been having the problems for about two years now,” he said.

“He didn’t fix them then and I haven’t seen them being fixed this year.

“And that is why Blake is going to win.”