Yohan Blake (born 26 December 1989) is a Jamaican sprinter specialising in the 100-metre and 200-metre sprint races. He won gold at the 100 m at the

2011 World Athletics Championships The 13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () was an international athletics competition that was held in Daegu, South Korea. It started on 27 August 2011 and finished on 4 September 2011. The United States topped the medal standings in th ...

as the youngest 100 m world champion ever, and a silver medal in the 2012 Olympic Games in London in the 100 m and 200 m races for the Jamaican team behind

Usain Bolt Usain St. Leo Bolt, , (; born 21 August 1986) is a retired Jamaican sprinter, widely considered to be the greatest sprinter of all time. He is the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, and 4 × 100 metres relay. An eight-ti ...

. His times of 9.75 in 100m and 19.44 in 200m are the fastest 100m and 200m Olympic sprints in history to not win the gold medal. Blake is the second fastest man ever in both 100 m and 200 m. Together with

Tyson Gay Tyson Gay (born August 9, 1982) is an American track and field sprinter who competes in the 100 and 200 meters. His 100 m personal best of 9.69 seconds is the American record and makes him tied for the second fastest athlete over 100 m ...

, he is the joint second fastest man ever over 100 m with a personal best of 9.69 seconds which he ran on 23 August 2012. Only

has run faster (9.58s, 9.63s, and 9.69s). His personal best for the 200 m (19.26 seconds) is the second fastest time ever after Bolt (19.19 seconds). Blake holds the Jamaican national junior record for the 100 metres, and was the youngest sprinter to have broken the

10-second barrier The 10-second barrier is the physical and psychological barrier of completing the 100 metres sprint in under ten seconds. The achievement is traditionally regarded as the hallmark of a world-class male sprinter. Its significance has become less i ...

at 19 years, 196 days old before Trayvon Bromell ran 100m in 9.97 seconds at 18 years 11 months and 3 days old. Blake was coached by Glen Mills until 2019. His training partners were

and Daniel Bailey.

Early life

Blake attended Green Park Primary and Junior High School in the Parish of Clarendon. He was discovered as a young talent from Davies Primary School by coach Carlton Solan. While he was at Green Park, Hopeton Bailey was the Head of the PE Department and the overall sports coordinator. Blake attended St. Jago High School in

Spanish Town Spanish Town ( jam, label= Jamaican Creole, Panish Tong) is the capital and the largest town in the parish of St. Catherine in the historic county of Middlesex, Jamaica. It was the Spanish and British capital of Jamaica from 1534 until 1872. T ...

where his first sporting love was

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

. Blake was a

fast bowler Fast bowling (also referred to as pace bowling) is one of two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket, the other being spin bowling. Practitioners of pace bowling are usually known as ''fast'' bowlers, ''quicks'', or ''pacemen''. ...

, and it was only after the school Principal saw how quickly he ran to the wicket that he was urged to try sprinting.

Career

Junior

Blake set the fastest time by a Jamaican junior sprinter over 100 m with 10.11 seconds.Reid, Tyrone S
Yohan Blake: Life in the fast lane
''Jamaica Observer'', 10 April 2007; Retrieved 13 August 2009. The record was set at the

2007 CARIFTA Games The 36th CARIFTA Games was held in the National Stadium on the island of Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands, on April 7–9, 2007. Detailed reports on the results were given. Participation (unofficial) Result lists can be found ...

held in the

Turks and Caicos islands The Turks and Caicos Islands (abbreviated TCI; and ) are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands, two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and ...

where he was also a member of the winning 4x100m relay team. At this occasion, he was awarded the Austin Sealy Trophy for the most outstanding athlete of the

. In 2008 when

was asked in an interview whether there were any sprinters that could challenge him, Bolt named his training partner Blake, saying "Watch out for Yohan Blake. He works like a beast. He's there with me step for step in training." The "Beast" nickname stuck. Blake won the 100 metre "B" race at the 2009

Reebok Grand Prix The USATF New York Grand Prix is an annual athletics meeting held at Icahn Stadium in New York City, United States. First started in 2005 as the Reebok Grand Prix and then Adidas Grand Prix, it was previously one of the IAAF Grand Prix even ...

. His exploits at the Golden Gala in July represented a significant improvement. He proved himself to be a serious competitor at the senior level: he took third place behind

and

Asafa Powell Asafa Powell, CD (born 23 November 1982) is a retired Jamaican sprinter who specialised in the 100 metres. He set the 100 metres world record twice, between June 2005 and May 2008 with times of 9.77 and 9.74 seconds. Powell has consisten ...

and improved his personal best with a

-breaking run of 9.96 seconds, becoming the youngest athlete ever to do so. He improved to 9.93 seconds shortly after, taking third place behind training partners Bolt and Daniel Bailey at the

Meeting Areva Meeting de Paris (formerly known as the Meeting Areva and Meeting Gaz de France) is an annual track and field meeting at the Stade Sébastien Charléty in Paris, France. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diam ...

Drug ban

Prior to the 2009 World Championships, Blake (along with Marvin Anderson and Sheri-Ann Brooks) tested positive for the stimulant 4-methyl-2-hexanamine. A disciplinary panel organised by the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) cleared him of a doping infraction on the grounds that the drug was not on the World Anti-Doping Agency's banned list. However, JADCO appealed their own panel's ruling, stating that the athlete should be disciplined as the drug was similar in structure to the banned substance tuaminoheptane. As the panel would resolve the issue after the World Championships, the

Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association The Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) is the national governing body for the sport of athletics (including track and field, long-distance running and racewalking) in Jamaica. The association is based in Kingston. As of December ...

took the precaution of withdrawing Blake from the relay race. The appeals tribunal decided that a ban would be appropriate, and Blake and the three other sprinters each received a three-month ban from competition.

2011

At the 2011 World Championships, Blake comfortably made the final. Following the disqualification of compatriot

, Blake won the gold medal in a time of 9.92 seconds. At , Blake also became the youngest 100 metres world champion ever, surpassing

Carl Lewis Frederick Carlton Lewis (born July 1, 1961) is an American former track and field athlete who won nine Olympic gold medals, one Olympic silver medal, and 10 World Championships medals, including eight gold. His career spanned from 1979 to 1996 ...

, who won the event at the 1983 World Championships at the age of . At these World Championships, alongside Bolt,

Nesta Carter Nesta Carter OD (born October 11, 1985) is a retired Jamaican sprinter who specialized in the 100 metres event. Carter was successful as part of the Jamaican 4 x 100 metres relay team, taking gold and setting successive world records at the 20 ...

and

Michael Frater Michael Frater O.D (born 6 October 1982) is a Jamaican retired sprinter who specialised in the 100 metres event. He won a silver medal at the 2005 World Championships and a gold medal at the 2003 Pan American Games for the event. He has als ...

, Blake won gold in the 4×100 m relay final and broke the world record (set by the Jamaican team at the Beijing Olympics in 2008) with a time of 37.04 seconds. At the

2011 IAAF Diamond League The 2011 IAAF Diamond League (also known as the 2011 Samsung Diamond League for sponsorship purposes) was the second edition of the Diamond League, an annual series of fourteen one-day track and field meetings. The series began on 6 May in Doha, Q ...

meeting in Zurich, Blake beat

in the 100 m with a personal best of 9.82 seconds. The following week in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, Blake set a 2011 world leading time in the 200 m with a personal best of 19.26 seconds, the second fastest time in history. He improved more than half of a second (0.52 s) from his previous best of 19.78 s set in

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

in 2010. In this particular race, his reaction time was relatively slow (0.269 s) and had he made even an average start, he could have comfortably set a new world record.

2012

Blake began his 2012 season strongly, registering the first sub-10-second time of the season (9.90 s) at April's UTech Classic. He went on to register a 9.84 second run at the Cayman Invitational prior to the Jamaican Olympic trials, where he beat Usain Bolt over 100 metres with a time of 9.75 seconds. He also won the 200 metres with a time of 19.80 s ahead of Bolt at 19.83 s. The

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

was the first Olympics that Blake participated in. He came in as a serious threat to Bolt's 100 m title. In the 100 m final he placed second to Bolt in a time of 9.75 seconds. He also followed Bolt home in the final of the

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

where he won the silver medal in a time of 19.44 seconds, the fastest non-winning time in history. In the 4×100 m final, Blake ran the third leg as the Jamaicans won gold, setting a new

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

time of 36.84 seconds. On 23 August 2012, at the

Athletissima Athletissima is an annual athletics meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland. Previously one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix events, it is now part of the Diamond League. The first edition was held on 8 July 1977 in the Stade Pierre de Coubertin. In 1 ...

Diamond League meet in

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR ...

, Switzerland, Blake ran the 100 metres in 9.69 seconds, tying him with Tyson Gay as the second fastest man in history, behind Bolt.

2013

Blake suffered a hamstring injury in April 2013. After running 20.72 seconds over 200 m in the Jamaica Nationals on 8 June, thus failing to qualify for the 200 m event at the 2013 Moscow World Championships, Blake pulled out of the 100 m event of the World Championships, for which he had an automatic entry as the defending world champion.

2014

Blake tried competing again in 2014, but placed 6th at the 200 m Lausanne Diamond League event, with a time of 20.48 seconds. He then suffered another hamstring injury and fell at the 40 metre mark during the Glasgow Diamond League 100 m race shortly after that, ending his season. Prior to the end of his season however, Blake anchored Jamaica in the 4x200m relay at the first edition of the I.A.A.F. World Relays in Bahamas to gold which was also broke the previous world record of 1:18.68.

2015

Blake decided he was ready to race again in 2015 after recovering from injuries in 2013 and 2014. He failed to advance from the Jamaica Outdoor national championship semi-final in the 100 metres, placing ninth with a time of 10.36 seconds, with the top 8 advancing to the finals. He did not participate in the 200 m trials after that.

2016

Blake made a strong comeback in 2016, running his first sub-ten since 2012—a 9.95 s in the 100 m at the 2016 Kingston MVP Track and Field meet. He then went on to defend both his 100 m and 200 m national titles in 9.92 seconds and 20.29 seconds respectively, in the absence of an injured Usain Bolt. In the

2016 Summer Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...

, he progressed into the 100 m final, where he finished fourth in a season's best 9.93 seconds. Unfortunately, he failed to do as well in the 200 m, finishing 6th in his semi-final and failing to advance forward. However, Blake won his second career Olympic gold running the second leg in the

4 × 100 m relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest ...

2017

2017 proved to be a slight repeat of 2016 for Blake. Despite his teammates dropping the baton in the 4 × 100 metres at the

2017 IAAF World Relays The 2017 IAAF World Relays is the third edition of the biennial, global track and field relay competition between nations. It was held April 22–23, 2017, in Nassau, Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is ...

, he was able to anchor his team to a bronze medal in the 4 × 200 metres. Later on in the season, he continued to post 100 m times superior to his 2016 season. At the Jamaican National Championships, he once again completed a double by clocking 9.90 s in the 100 m, and 19.97 s in the 200 m. His 9.90 s was the second fastest time that season, and his 200 m was not only his first sub-20 since 2012 and massive improvement from his previous season, but also tied for the sixth fastest time of the year. After the championships, Blake shaved his signature braids. At the

2017 World Championships in Athletics Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanese m ...

in London, Blake finished in fourth place yet again in the 100 m final. This time, he clocked 9.99 seconds, just 0.04 behind Usain Bolt, who failed to win his last individual race and instead settled for bronze. Blake was one of the only four men who went under ten seconds during the race, the others being Bolt, silver medalist Christian Coleman, and gold medalist Justin Gatlin. Just as he did in Rio the previous year, Blake failed to progress into the 200 m final, though he was ranked closer this time with 11th overall and a slower 20.52 s to come third in his heat. After this, Blake looked forward to the Men's 4 × 100 metres relay, his last chance at a medal at the championships, and Usain Bolt's final race. During the race, Bolt pulled up 50 metres from the finish line in what was later confirmed to be another hamstring injury. Blake helped the injured Bolt, who refused a wheelchair, to his feet. Blake left the championships with no medals.

2018

Blake started his 2018 season early, in preparation for the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, ...

. Despite a seasonal best of 10.05 s in the 100 m, he was still considered as the event's favorite. Blake qualified comfortably for the 100 m final with the fastest time in both the heats and the semis. However, he stumbled out of the blocks in the final, and despite his strong efforts to recover, he ultimately placed third in 10.19 seconds, behind

Henricho Bruintjies Henricho Bruintjies (born 16 July 1993) is a South African sprinter. He broke the 10-second barrier with a run of 9.97 seconds in 2015. He has represented his country at the Summer Olympics, World Championships and Commonwealth Games. He is a ...

and

Akani Simbine Akani Simbine (born 21 September 1993) is a South African sprinter specialising in the 100 metres event. He was fifth at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the men's 100 metres and was the 100 metres African record holder with a time of 9.84 seconds ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

. Blake won another bronze in the Men's 4 × 100 m relay. After the Games, Blake focused on the Jamaican National Championships, hoping to win his third straight national title. However, he false started in the semi-finals, disqualifying his chances. He also opted out of the 200 m. Later on in the season, Blake continued to progress in the 100 m with two sub-tens.

2019

In January 2019, coach Glen Mills reported that he had parted ways with Blake after a disagreement. Blake switched to Patrick Dawson, and would continue to workout at the Racers Track Club site. Months later, Blake and numerous former members of Racers Track Club accused Mills of favoring Usain Bolt. Despite the controversy, Blake took home the national 100m title for the 4th time, and finished 2nd in the 200m. He also won the

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fourteen of the best invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF) one-day mee ...

100m en route to the 2019 World Championships in Doha. There, he managed to place 5th in the 100m final with a time of 9.97, but was unable to make it past the 200m semi final, placing 6th with a time of 20.37. Following his disappointing performance at the World Championships, Blake switched coaches once again to Gregory Little.

2021

Yohan Blake started his season at National Stadium, Kingston. On 13 March 2021, Blake ran 100m in 10.29 seconds (0.0 m/s) there. On 24 April, he smashed his season best at 10.27 (+0.2 m/s). On 2 May, Blake reached sub-ten performance clocking 9.98 seconds at the National Training Centre, Clermont, USA. But with the wind value being 2.7 m/s, the time became illegal. Again on 5 June, his run of 9.97 seconds was turned down due to 2.1 m/s wind in Florida, USA. Then, Blake ran an impressive 9.95 (+0.1 m/s) at the American Track League on 9 July 2021.

Tokyo Olympics

Blake had a disappointing Summer Olympics. He failed to advance to the final of the 100m, placing sixth in his semifinal heat with a time of 10.14. He stated his leg had been bothering him. No Jamaican man qualified for the Olympic final, something that had not happened since the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

. He and his Jamaican teammates came in fifth in the 4 x 100 m relay. He did not compete in the 200m.

Personal bests

*All information taken from IAAF profile

Achievements

*National Junior Championships: 2006 (1st, 100 m & 200 m) ¹Did not start in the semifinals

Other interests and personal life

Away from athletics, Blake continues to be a keen

er, having once held ambitions to play for the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

. Playing for the Kingston Cricket Club in the athletics off-season and specialising as a bowler, Blake once took four wickets for ten runs. On 16 August 2012, Blake rang the bell at

Lord's Cricket Ground Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket List of Test cricket grounds, venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

to signify the start of the third Investec test match between

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

and

. He was the first non-professional cricketer to do this. Blake is also a fan of the IPL team

Royal Challengers Bangalore Royal Challengers Bangalore (often abbreviated as RCB) are a franchise cricket team based in Bangalore, Karnataka, that plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL). It was founded in 2008 by United Spirits and named after the company's liquor ...

(RCB) and has expressed his desire to play for them and for

Yorkshire County Cricket Club Yorkshire County Cricket Club is one of 18 first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Yorkshire. Yorkshire are the most successful team in English cricketing hi ...

. He has expressed his admiration of Virat Kohli's captaincy of the

Indian cricket team The India men's national cricket team, also known as Team India or the Men in Blue, represents India in men's international cricket. It is governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), and is a Full Member of the International ...

. In March 2021, Blake said that he would rather miss the upcoming

Tokyo 2020 Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the List of Olympic Games h ...

than take the

COVID-19 vaccine A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19). Prior to the COVID19 pandemic, an e ...

References

External links

*
Jamaican flavor – Yohan Blake showcases speed, talent at Penn Relays
SI.com, 1 May 2007
Do You know Yohan Blake
Windies Sports, 29 March 2008 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blake, Yohan 1989 births Living people Jamaican male sprinters People from Saint James Parish, Jamaica Jamaican Christians Doping cases in athletics Jamaican sportspeople in doping cases Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Jamaica Olympic male sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Olympic gold medalists for Jamaica Olympic silver medalists for Jamaica World Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Championships athletes for Jamaica Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics World Athletics record holders (relay) Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Jamaica Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics IAAF Continental Cup winners World Athletics Championships winners