The 4 Jamaican speedsters who ran for gold with a new world record yesterday, L-R:
Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake, Michael Frater and Nesta Carter
The Jamaican 'speed team' did it again yesterday, seizing gold (plus a new world record of 36.84) from the USA team in the Men's 4 x 100m relay. Once again, Kingston and the Caribbean went wild, as the conquering heroes at last won without the USA side making all kinds of excuses, and hence casting a pall over previous successes, such as at Beijing 4 years ago.
The gang of 4 was anchored by Usain Bolt who simply was unbeatable in the final leg, as the tiny island nation (not much bigger than the state of Connecticut) snagged its 12th Olympic medal, in besting the Big Cheeses from the North. The U.S. team meanwhile finished 2nd, and bagged the Jamaicans' old record of 37.04 secs.
Yohan Blake - who (in his words) ran "a beastly 3rd leg against Tyson Gay", acknowledged the excuses were at last over for the Americans, saying:
"There is no excuse for them this time around. They ran well and got our old record....and I commend them and I am glad their stick came around."
He was referring to the flub in Beijing where a bad handoff led to the Americans being scorched, or maybe torched, by the men from the land of the hummingbird. Yohan went on to say:
"We showed them that we can run 36 seconds, but those guys aren't ready for it. I love to run with Tyson Gay. When I saw him I said, 'Look, yuh dead!'
Blake added that he knew Gay was "shaking" when he saw his competition would be Blake on the 3rd leg. (Gay was in tears after coming in 4th in the Men's 100m - won by Usain Bolt).
Meanwhile, Usain said he was never intiimidated by the Yankees trying to talk tough to scare the team. He noted:
"It was never a worry. I heard them talk, but it was never a worry because we know what we are capable of."
Neither wifey or myself knew the outcome before we watched the race last night on NBC, but when the Jamaicans brought home a gold -we whupped it up, never mind we had no beer with which to celebrate like we normally would with football games.
Meanwhile, Bolt, interviewed last night, did say he would be there for the Rio Olympics in 2016, if things worked out and his training went well. This gives the lie to the earlier suspicions that this might be his last Olympics, since in Rio he'd be running at the age of 30. But hey, if he can still do it, let him do it. From where I sit I detect no imminent signs of burnout or lack of speed. It all hinges on Bolt's dedication and commitment.
We will see in four years.
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