Usain Bolt at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London
Yohan Blake, at 180m tall and shown here at the 2012 Olympics in London, is 15cm shorter than no. 1 runner Usain Bolt
LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND – The superstar in Lausanne Thursday night, for the crowd, remained Usain Bolt, who has endeared himself to local fans by saying how much he likes the track here.
But the real star was fellow Jamaican Yohan Blake, who ran a magnificent 100-metre race in 9.69, improving his previous personal best of 9.73, and making it clear he is the world’s second-fastest ever runner, hot on the heels of the leggy Bolt, who is 195 metres tall (6 foot 5).
Bolt holds the world record for the 100, at 9.58, and in London he ran it in 9.63 seconds.
Bolt didn’t surprise anyone in Lausanne Thursday evening with his 200-metre win at the Athletissima sports event, running it in 19.58, a meeting record, but short of his world record 19.19, which he had already said he wouldn’t be matching. But the crowd loved him, as always in Lausanne, and local media reveled in the fun surrounding his 26th birthday celebrations the day before the race.
