Sat | Aug 13, 2022

#NationalTrials2022 | Blake turns back the clock for National title

Published:Friday | June 24, 2022 | 9:43 PM
From left: Four fast men, Yohan Blake, Ackeem Blake, Oblique Seville, and Jelani Walker go head to head in the final of the Men's 100 metres at the JAAA National Senior and Junior Athletics Championships inside the National Stadium this evening.
Gladstone Taylor
From left: Four fast men, Yohan Blake, Ackeem Blake, Oblique Seville, and Jelani Walker go head to head in the final of the Men's 100 metres at the JAAA National Senior and Junior Athletics Championships inside the National Stadium this evening.

It was the fastest he has run in 10 years.

Veteran sprinter Yohan Blake turned back the clock inside the National Stadium this evening to wrest the title of National 100-metre Champion from Ackeem Blake and heir apparent, Oblique Seville, in the battle of the fast men at the JAAA National Senior and Junior Athletics Championships.

Blake clocked a fast 9.85 seconds to best Seville, 9.88, and Titans teammate Ackeem Blake, 9.93.

Blake dipped below 10 seconds for the first time this season in the opening round of the 100s, but was overshadowed by the ease of Seville in doing so.

In the semi-finals, he did it again, but was slower than Seville, who seemed to bounce to 9.92.

In the final, Blake’s usual bullet start, which had deserted him over the last few years, miraculously returned and he was first out.

He did come under some pressure from Seville but showed strength in staying ahead of his younger rivals for the victory.

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