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Yohan Blake upstages Usain Bolt by running 100m in equal second fastest time in history at Diamond League


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The 22 year-old became only the third man in history to run the 100 metres in under 9.70sec when he clocked a stunning lifetime best of 9.69sec to triumph at last nightÃÔ Diamond League meeting in Lausanne. Only Bolt has run faster. His performance puts him equal second on the all-time list alongside American Tyson Gay, who clocked an identical time when he finished second behind Bolt at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, and offered a tantalising glimpse of the tough challenge that lies ahead for Bolt if he is to extend his dominance all the way to the Rio Games in 2016. The only pity was that Bolt was not in the same race yesterday, having opted instead to contest the 200m, because there is every chance that the result in the Olympic 100m final might have been turned on its head. BlakeÃÔ performance was 0.06sec quicker than he ran in London and only 0.06sec behind BoltÃÔ winning Olympic time. Bolt was watching his friend from the call-room ahead of his 200m race and his facial expression, broadcast to the capacity 17,000 crowd on the giant TV screen, combined laughter and incredulity. The triple Olympic champion is not used to playing second fiddle to anyone. It clearly motivated him to run flat out all the way to the finish line in his own race. His time of 19.58sec was the third-quickest in the world this season, bettered only by his and BlakeÃÔ times in the Olympic 200m final. Yet it was not enough to steal the limelight from the young man whom he nicknamed the Å£east because of his ferocious work ethic. Blake has adopted this moniker as his trademark and has the word sewn into the tongues of his running spikes. There was no doubting the animal that was unleashed as he flew from blocks to leave a top-class field in his wake. Gay, who was fourth at the Olympics, finished second in 9.83sec while fellow Jamaican Nesta Carter was a distant third in 9.95sec. BlakeÃÔ time was all the more remarkable given that he has spent the last week suffering from flu. Afterwards he predicted that there could be even more surprises when he competes in the 100m in Zurich next week before finishing his season with a 200m in Brussels. ŪÃ×e been sick all week but thank God I recovered, he said. Ū have more races and IÃÎ going to get better and better. Bolt is also running in Zurich and Brussels but, frustratingly, not against Blake. Instead, he will contest the 200m in Zurich and the 100m in Brussels. Before yesterdayÃÔ meet, Bolt said he had been advised by Glen Mills, the coach he shares with Blake, not to race his training partner in the last few races of the season and to concentrate on fulfilling his remaining commitments without picking up an injury. But money is also a factor in the decision of the two sprinters to avoid each other. That it would take plenty of it to stage an Olympic rerun is clear. It is understood that organisers of the Zurich meeting attempted to broker a deal but fell short. Ū would run with Usain any day, heÃÔ my training partner, Blake said. Ū would love to run with him, but they have to put up big money. GrenadaÃÔ Olympic 400m champion, Kirani James, continued the Caribbean success with a comfortable victory in 44.37sec. Carmelita Jeter salvaged some respectability for the United States by beating Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce into second place. Both women were given a time of 10.86sec. The US also had a victory in the menÃÔ 110m hurdles, with Jason Richardson winning in 13.08sec. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/athletics/9496149/Yohan-Blake-upstages-Usain-Bolt-by-running-100m-in-equal-second-fastest-time-in-history-at-Diamond-League.html [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEchlnFXSUo]100M Men Yohan Blake 9.69 Lausanne Diamond League - HD - YouTube[/ame]

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. . . The only pity was that Bolt was not in the same race yesterday, having opted instead to contest the 200m, because there is every chance that the result in the Olympic 100m final might have been turned on its head. ]
How does that upstage Bolt?
exactly.
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