Retired Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, for the first time since the 2004 Athens Games, will not be part of the Olympics, meaning the most coveted 100m title will be up for grabs.
During a conversation with the official Olympics channel, ‘Lightning Bolt’ picked his heir for the 100m throne at the Tokyo Olympics. Bolt, 34, believes USA sprinter Trayvon Bromell will be his successor.
“He really stepped up and showed that he is ready and he is fit,” Bolt said during the conversation on Instagram Live. “As long as he stays good, he should be on top.”
Bromell is the fastest man this year, clocking a world-leading time of 9.77s on June 5. But although Usain Bolt made predictions for 100m at the Tokyo Olympics, he is convinced that his world record will remain intact.
“I am very confident (of the world record staying intact),” he said. “I am not saying it will not happen. But I don’t think the current crop is at the level (to run times of ) 9.58s. So, let’s see what happens at the Tokyo Olympics,” he added.
Who is Trayvon Bromell?
Trayvon Bromell, the 25-year-old sprinter from Florida, was dubbed the “next big thing” after he ran 9.97s to set a new world junior record at the 2014 NCAA Championships. With that performance, he also became the first teen to break the 10-second barrier in 100m.
He continued to progress, and by the end of 2015, he had won a world championship bronze.
Bromell is also the 2016 World Indoor Champion and two-time Pan-Am Junior medalist (2013). His 9.77s sprint in June this year made him the seventh-fastest man in history.
The Tokyo Olympics will be Bromell’s second consecutive games appearance.
At the 2016 Summer Olympics, he arrived in Rio as one of the favorites after defeating Justin Gatlin and Asafa Powell prior to the games. In the 100m heats, he finished second behind Ben Youssef Meite of Ivory Coast. In the semi-final, he was drawn in the same group as Usain Bolt and Andre De Grasse. Bromell finished third in the race.
READ: Tokyo Olympics 2021 Athletics: Schedule, venue, events and all you need to know
He qualified for the Tokyo Olympics after winning the 2021 US Trials ahead of Ronnie Baker and Fred Karley.
With Usain Bolt no longer around, Tokyo Olympics 2020 presents the perfect opportunity for Bromell to stamp his authority on the world stage.
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