GLEN Mills, coach of world’s fastest man Usain Bolt, admits that the sprinter’s battle with injuries makes it increasingly harder to get the athlete to impervious shape ahead of major events.The sprinter faced down his biggest challenge in years at the recently concluded Beijing World Championships, in the figure of American Justin Gatlin, going on to claim the 100m, 200m and 4x100m titles.
Heading into the event all the talk had surrounded whether Bolt, hampered by injuries in recent years, could outperform the in-form American who headed into the Championships with the world’s best times by a distance. In the end Bolt delivered, but Mills the man responsible for conditioning the sprinter is quick to a point out that it is only getting harder.
“Bolt is probably the greatest talent in sprinting that the world has ever seen but that said, getting him to be able to perform at his best level has its challenges. It’s like there is a diamond in a particular area but to get to it or to get it out, there are a lot of dangers to be encountered,” Mills said of the sprinters preparation.
Bolt announced his intention to dominate the world of sprinting at the 2008 Olympic Games, and has made good on that promise, going on to claim the sprint double at every Olympic or World Championship since, the exception being the Daegu World Championships where he was disqualified in the 100m final.
Mills is now, though, uncertain of the 29-year-olds dominance going beyond next year’s Olympic Games in Rio.
“We are going all out to give the Olympics one last fling and after that retirement beckons. If he gets through this Olympics I don’t think he will be able to continue at this level because you can see that it’s now beginning to affect him more than before.” (Sportsmax)