By Louis Ritchie
I was listening to the Jamaican commentary before and after the men's 4x100m event at the World Relays last week. I heard everything: Usain Bolt is not in top shape yet, we didn't have Yohan Blake on the team. First of all, Jamaica need to stop making excuses, and just take the loss in stride, and say, "we'll be ready to take on the U.S. at the World Championships later this year".
Saying that Usain Bolt is not in shape yet, means nothing to me, because no track and field athlete is supposed to be in top shape at this point in the season!. Every athlete wants to be in top shape at the World Championships, not in April or May! So as far as I'm concerned, none of the U.S. runners on that relay quartette beat the Jamaicans are in top shape.
Another excuse they used, was "we didn't have Yohan Blake on the team" So again, as far as I'm concerned, the distance that Jamaica lost the relay to the U.S. is not going to be made up, by having Yohan Blake on the team.
When you lose by 15 meters, Yohan Blake, is not that fast, where he could have made up 15 meters! Now if Jamaica had lost by only 3 or 4 meters, I would say, having Yohan Blake on the team could have made a difference, (providing he's in decent shape)!
So, Jamaica, please stop crying, and just take your loss like a man, and just gear up, and plan to go after the U.S. at the World Championships!!
**The views expressed in this article are those of the author (Louis Ritchie) and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, TrackAlerts.Com