Jamaican sprint star Usain Bolt is aiming to become the first male athlete to dip under 20 seconds for the 200m this season when he takes to the track in Thursday’s Bislett Games.
After being beaten last week at the Rome leg of the 14-meet Diamond League, Bolt is keen to bounce back with a victory before heading home for his national trials ahead of the August 10-18 World Athletics Championships.
The surprise defeat in the Italian capital by American Justin Gatlin was a mere blip that meant nothing in the long term, Bolt said, referring to similar rare losses he suffered before clinching three gold medals at both the Beijing and London Olympics.
Bolt holds the record of the fastest 100m in Oslo (9.79sec in 2012) but the quickest 200m on record at the Bislett Stadium belongs to Namibia’s Frankie Fredericks, clocked at 19.82sec way back in 1996.
“It’s all about execution and getting it right. As long as I execute right, I think I’ll get a fast time.”
The Jamaican said he had not overly dwelled on his Rome outing. “My coach (Glen Mills) said the start was good and I was over-striding a little bit. We’ll analyse it more and when I get home we’ll talk about it.
Bolt faces considerably less classy competition in the 200m than in the Rome 100m, with Dutchman Churandy Martina (19.85sec), Norwegian Jaysuma Saidy Ndure (19.89) and American Curtis Mitchell (19.99) the only other three to have dipped under 20sec in their careers.
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East bengal hire brazilian father-son duo
Kolkata, June 12: Brazilian Marcos Falopa, who has been a Fifa instructor since 1996, will be the East Bengal coach for the upcoming season, the club announced here on Wednesday.
The 64-year-old Falopa will join the club along with his son Americo, appointed as the fitness trainer-cum-goalkeeping coach, East Bengal president Pranab Dasgupta said at the club tent.
In a coaching career spanning over three decades, Falopa has travelled more than 100 countries and coached various clubs and national teams including South Africa, Oman and Myanmar.
Falopa also served assistant coach of Brazilian national team in 1986-88 and later joined Fifa as a technical instructor a job profile that took him to many South Asian countries.
“When (Trevor) Morgan joined he had no clue about India.
“But For Falopa, it will be an advantage as he knows the football scenario in these parts,” an East Bengal official said.
East Bengal picked Falopa from a lot of eight after Englishman Morgan parted ways with the club.
The father-son duo are expected to join the team by the first week of July.
— PTI