— The fastest men and women from Jamaica filed out of the bus in single file Thursday: Olympic gold medalists like Veronica Campbell-Brown and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. But those gathered outside were waiting for one sprinter and one sprinter only. As Usain Bolt emerged last with his green ballcap perched at a jaunty angle, he was soon back in familiar formation — at the heart of a fast-moving pack of cameras, boom microphones, security guards and officials as he flashed three fingers to his public.
Bolt, 25, remains his sport’s towering figure and not because he stands 6 feet 5 inches.
“He is track and field at this point and time, and that is a lot of pressure,” the American sprinter Justin Gatlin said this week.
Although Bolt is adopting a less cocksure tone after an underwhelming season by his high standards, his competitors keep proving even more vulnerable. And by the time Bolt walked out of the news conference, it was hard not to take those three fingers more seriously.
The men’s 100-meter field in Daegu, already bereft of Bolt’s injured rival Tyson Gay, keeps shedding talent. Steve Mullings of Jamaica and Mike Rodgers of the United States, who each have faster 100 times than Bolt this season, have withdrawn because of positive doping tests. On Thursday, the supposedly resurgent Asafa Powell, whose time of 9.78 seconds was the fastest of anyone this season, announced his withdrawal through his agent, Paul Doyle, citing the groin injury sustained on July 30 that kept him from racing in London this month.
The decision to skip the 100 (the final is Sunday) was announced only after Michael Frater, Powell’s training partner, let it slip during the news conference that he had been called on to replace Powell. Looking sheepish, Frater did his best to backpedal when pressed, and Jamaican officials did not immediately confirm the news. Bolt, who appeared on stage later, expressed surprise when asked.
“Asafa is out?” he said. “This is the first I’m hearing about that, so I can’t really answer that question. I saw Asafa yesterday.”
“He is track and field at this point and time, and that is a lot of pressure,” the American sprinter Justin Gatlin said this week.
Although Bolt is adopting a less cocksure tone after an underwhelming season by his high standards, his competitors keep proving even more vulnerable. And by the time Bolt walked out of the news conference, it was hard not to take those three fingers more seriously.
The men’s 100-meter field in Daegu, already bereft of Bolt’s injured rival Tyson Gay, keeps shedding talent. Steve Mullings of Jamaica and Mike Rodgers of the United States, who each have faster 100 times than Bolt this season, have withdrawn because of positive doping tests. On Thursday, the supposedly resurgent Asafa Powell, whose time of 9.78 seconds was the fastest of anyone this season, announced his withdrawal through his agent, Paul Doyle, citing the groin injury sustained on July 30 that kept him from racing in London this month.
The decision to skip the 100 (the final is Sunday) was announced only after Michael Frater, Powell’s training partner, let it slip during the news conference that he had been called on to replace Powell. Looking sheepish, Frater did his best to backpedal when pressed, and Jamaican officials did not immediately confirm the news. Bolt, who appeared on stage later, expressed surprise when asked.
“Asafa is out?” he said. “This is the first I’m hearing about that, so I can’t really answer that question. I saw Asafa yesterday.”
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