Yohan Blake says ‘Setback might be for a greater comeback’

Reigning Olympic 100m and 200m silver medallist, Yohan Blake, may return to action at the end of the month, but his long-term focus will be to medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janiero, Brazil.

"Everything's going well. He's training. We hope to do something by the end of the month, but we're not in any rush for any competition or any specific timetable," the athlete's agent, Cubie Seegobin, told The Gleaner yesterday.

"The long-term plan is to do well at the Olympics and anything before that would be a plus," Seegobin added.

hamstring injury

Blake, who works out of the Glen Mills-conditioned Racers Track Club - based at the University of the West Indies (UWI) - was out injured for most of 2013.

The former St Jago High school star, who is also Jamaica's second-fastest athlete over 100m (9.69 seconds) and 200m (19.26), made a return to the track last year, but crashed out of the men's 100m with a hamstring injury at a Grand Prix meeting in Glasgow, Scotland on July 11.

"We're on a different plan," Seegobin said, noting that they are taking extra care to nurturing him back to fitness.

"He's fully healthy and 100 per cent recovered, it's just getting into competition shape now. We're just trying to take our time.

"He's working like normal, doing time trials, but we're just trying to make sure what happened the last two years doesn't happen and don't rush anything. So anything short of the Olympics would be great," Seegobin said in terms of a his athlete returning his best form.

In an interview with the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Spikes magazine a month ago, Blake himself said that training was going well.

"(I'm) not giving all in training, just basic right now, but as the season progresses I think I will progress as well. I'm just focusing on being healthy again. I'm not focusing on getting back to the top because I can do that at any time," he said on the IAAF website.

Blake, who became the youngest 100m World champion in 2011, when he won the event in Daegu, South Korea, is still hoping to put on a good show at this year's edition of the event in Beijing, China in August.

"The World Championships is a stepping stone for me to come back for 2016, so I'm focusing on getting through the season injury-free."

In the meantime, Blake believes that the attention on Usain Bolt's attempt at an unprecedented three-peat at the Olympics will make his goals easier.

"It makes it much easier for me going there. A lot of people not thinking Yohan can win this. I think it's going to be epic, and I just can't wait.

"I think this setback is for a greater comeback, and I think that is going to be good for me and also rewrite history again," Blake concluded.