This is the press conference for the Usain Bolt before the World Champs. Over 250 media representatives were there and you are now there, courtesy of our friends at TrackAlerts.com. That Bolt is the biggest draw in our sport is true, and it is reinforced at the major meeting press conferences.
Usain Bolt is done a disservice, I believe. In our eternal need to have world records at each and every championship, we degrade the quality of the competition. Even with the withdrawals of Asafa Powell, Tyson Gay, Mike Rogers, both the 100 meter and 200 meter fields are still quite deadly. Getting to the semi-finals will be tough for many. Usain Bolt has mentioned all season that it takes a huge effort to run at his 2008 and 2009 level, this year is about competing and winning.
I am not sure that this is a WR year in the sprints. It might be the year of digging down deep and fighting for the win. And we, the track fans, should see some memorable races!
Here is the IAAF story on the Usain Bolt Press conference, written our InsidetheGames.biz ‘s Mike Rowbottom, who is writing for the IAAF here in
Daegu: http://daegu2011.iaaf.org/newslistdetail.aspx?id=61276