Injury, fatigue force Seville, Blake out of Racers 100m

Injury and fatigue have forced Jamaica’s two fastest men this year, Oblique Seville and Ackeem Blake, out of tomorrow’s Racers Grand Prix 100 metres.

Local fans will have to wait a little longer to witness a clash between both athletes who were down to go head on with American Christian Coleman, the 2019 World champion, who is expected to run his second race in the 100 metres this season after a third-place finish in the event in Los Angeles last weekend.

Reports are that Seville has a slight hamstring injury while fatigue has been given as the reason for Blake’s withdrawal. “After a busy season so far and his long trip from the recent Los Angeles meet, he has suffered from fatigue and we have taken the necessary step for him to be rested fully so we have decided to pull him from the meet,” said Michael Frater, one of Blake’s coaches at the Titans Track Club.

Both Blake and Seville have shown tremendous progress this season and are expected to be the flag-bearers in the short sprint for the country at this year’s World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

Last year, Seville, who finished fourth in the men’s 100 metres at the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, ended the year ranked sixth in the event with 9.86 seconds. At present he is ranked 10th in the event with his season’s best of 9.95, a time he clocked in Miramar, Florida, on April 8.

Blake clocked a personal best 9.89 on May 27 in Los Angeles in winning the Grand Prix event. He is ranked at at number three in the event. At the end of last season his best of 9.93 had him at number 12.

The country will still have strong representatives in the event tomorrow in Julian Forte (season’s best 10.03), Sachin Dennis (10.11) and the vastly improved Kadrien Goldson (10.11).