Blake beats Bolt
Words and photo by Erin MacLeod
LargeUp contributor Erin MacLeod was at Jamaica National Stadium Friday night when Yohan Blake bested Usain Bolt in a stunning finish to Jamaica’s 100-meter Olympic trials. She posted a photo that really captures the shock and surprise of those in attendance—check the dude at bottom right—over at her Tumblr yesterday, so we asked her to speak about it. Read an excerpt below and hit the link at bottom to read the full piece.
Friday night, the unexpected happened. Yohan Blake beat Usain Bolt in the 100m final of the Jamaica Olympic Trials. (Asafa Powell, who reportedly hopped over to Miami for medical treatment between the initial afternoon heats and the semi-finals, took third.) Blake and Bolt aren’t bitter rivals—they are training partners and friends. But, for the crowd, it just didn’t seem right that world-famous Bolt had to play second fiddle to a speedier Blake. You can see from the photo taken in the packed bleachers that shock washed over the crowd. Cheering was subdued, and there was a fair amount of jaw dropping and head shaking.
