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1 more GOLD for Jamaica, 2 Silvers and a Bronze! Am Update & Tonight’s Schedule!

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Friday am Highlights from Beijing!

Women’s 100m hurdles Semi Finals

Semi Final 1

Jamaica’s Champion, Danielle Williams held off World Leader, Sharika Nelvis from the USA with a PB of 12.58. The fastest Semi Final. Nelvis ran 12.59.

USA’s Dawn Harper-Nelson crashed and burned from about the 2nd or 3rd hurdle.

Semi Final 2

Drama. USA’s collegiate Champion, Kendra Harrison false started. She went way out of the blocks.They fantastic 4 are now down to 2.

GB’s Confident Tiffany Porter blazed through easily with a tine of 12.62 ahead of Cindy Roleder of Germany.

Jamaica’s Kimberly Laing was way behind so failed to qualify.

Semi Final 3

USA’s Defending Champion, Brianna Rollins won in 12.71 and Danielle’s sister, Shermaine had a bad start and was behind but persevered and powered through to come 2nd and qualify. Well done Shermaine.

WOMEN’S 200M FINALS! Suga called it!

Image: theguardian.com
Image: theguardian.com

What a cracker!

Dafne Schippers runs a Championship record of 21.63! She passed Elaine Thompson at the end. Elaine ran 21.66, her PB, also faster than the Championship record, making her the second fastest ever at World Champs! BUT you can never count out the veteran VCB! Veronica Campbell-Brown was ahead for most of the race. She ran the race of her life in a young A field finishing 3rd SUB 22 – 21.97.

Silver and Bronze for Jamaica!

USA’s McGrone came 4th and GB’s Dina Asher Smith 5th.

Our Sherone Simpson finished last but with her Season’s best.

WOMEN’S LONG JUMP FINAL

USA’s Bartoletta has made the right move to stop running. She has won Gold in the Women’s Long Jump final with a huge jump of 7.14, ahead of favourite GB’s Proctor who won silver with 7.07.

Men’s 110m Hurdles!

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The Russian wins! Oliver hit the first hurdle badly. Sergey Shubenkov won in 19.98! Hansle Parchment of Jamaica won silver after a horrible start but persevered and finished fast. USA’s Merritt won Bronze.

France’s Martinot-Lagarde and Bascou came 4th and 5th.

Ja’s McLeoud came 6th. Once he stops hitting hurdles he can win.

Women’s 100m Hurdles

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Image: The Jamaica Observer

DANIELLE WILLIAMS WINS GOLD FOR JAMAICA IN THE 100M HURDLES FINAL! WOW! 12.57 PB. What were the odds?! 12.5 for the win and 8.5 if she placed in top 3. Don’t you wish you had that tip. But after she beat USA’s WL Nelvis this am in the semi final she was in good standing.

The German, Roleder wins silver and Talay! from Belarus Bronze edging out GB and USA!

*Channels: TVJ/TVJSN

FRIDAY NIGHT, AUGUST 28 – Jamaica time

6:30pm     Men’s 50km Race Walk Final

8:00pm     Men’s 110m Hurdles Decathalon

9:05pm     Men’s Discus Throw Decathalon Group A

9:15pm     WOMEN’S 4*400M RELAY HEATS

9:40pm     MEN’S 4*400m RELAY HEATS

10:20pm   Men’s Discus Throw Decathalon Group B

11:00pm   WOMEN’S 4*100M RELAY HEATS

11:20pm   MEN’S 4*100M RELAY HEATS

12:15am    Men’s Pole Vault Decathalon

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CONGRATS Usain and Shericka! Thursday AM Update, Schedule for Friday’s Action!

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110M Hurdles Men

Shubenkov of Russia, Aries Merritt and Oliver of the USA and France’s Bascou all looking superb. France’s LaGarde should qualify as fastest loser and is one to watch.

Ja’s Parchment is looking good as well. He came second vs the Russian. McLeoud will be in the mix too. Hitting lots of hurdles finishing 2nd vs Aires.

Riley didn’t make the final.

200m Semi-Final

Semi Final 1

Elaine Thompson continues to look impressive easing up in about the last 50m with a time of 22.13.

McGrone of the USA was way behind in 2nd.

Semi Final 2

Dafne Schippers looking extremely good! She jogged 22.36. She looked side to side in the stretch. Suga thinks she will have a narrow edge over Elaine. She will have a massive finish.

Sherone qualified coming 3rd in 22.53.

Semi Final 3

VCB was way behind but still qualified for the final as Fastest loser. Look out for young Great Britain’s Dina Asha Smith will be in the mix, winning in 22.13. Continuing to improve her PB. USA’s Tarmoh qualified as well coming 2nd.

Men’s Triple Long Jump Final

USA gets their 2nd Gold medal of the Championship with Christian Taylor winning and Cuba’s Richardo won silver.

400m Women’s Final

Allyson Felix flew for the first 200m and led the whole way winning in 49.26 WL.

Shaunae Miller came from behind but didn’t have enough gas to catch Felix, winning silver in 49.67.

SHERICKA JACKSON won Bronze for Jamaica. The 21 yr old ran extremely well running her PB at 49.99.

Jamaica ran 3,4,5,6! Well done all of you! Day 4th, McPherson 5th out of lane 9 and Novlene 6th out of lane 1.

They were all on the floor after the line. What a race!

200m MEN’s FINAL!

USAIN BOLT finishes all arguments and ran a hell of a race finishing in 19.55! He said he had no doubt about the 200m and takes it more personal than the 100. Gatlin ran his PB earlier this year of 19.57, so with Bolt having more gas in the tank we can see why he was positive he would win. Gatlin was unlikely to reproduce that time or better after running the 100m and all those rounds. Gatlin dismissed!

Gatlin came off the curb well, close to Bolt and even went slightly ahead of Bolt early on the stretch. But Bolt stepped up his gear and won convincingly with time to watch the screen and celebrate before the line.

So Gatlin settles with silver at 19.74 and no surprise with SA’s Jobodwana 3rd with a NR of 19.87. Edward from Panama in 4th with a SB of 19.87. Hughes came fifth with a PB of 20.02.

Ashmeade was out of sight expectedly. Dead last. Not even up like 7.

USAIN BOLT < -> WORLD BOSS

BEIJING FRIDAY SCHEDULE !!! It’s RELAY TIME!

*Channels – TVJ/TVJSN

*Driving? – Hits 92FM

FRIDAY MORNING, AUGUST 28 – Jamaica time

3:15am    Men’s High Jump Decathalon

6:00am    Women’s Javelin Throw Qualification Group A

6:25am    WOMEN’S 100M HURDLES SEMI-FINAL

6:50am    Women’s Long Jump Final

6:55am    Men’s 1500m Semi-Final

7:20am    Men’s 400m Decathalon

7:25am    Women’s Javelin Throw Qualification Group B

8:00am    WOMEN’S 200M FINAL

8:20am    MEN’S 110M HURDLES FINAL

8:35am    WOMEN’S 100M HURDLES FINAL

FRIDAY NIGHT, AUGUST 28 – Jamaica time

6:30pm     Men’s 50km Race Walk Final

8:00pm     Men’s 110m Hurdles Decathalon

9:05pm     Men’s Discus Throw Decathalon Group A

9:15pm     WOMEN’S 4*400M RELAY HEATS

9:40pm     MEN’S 4*400m RELAY HEATS

10:20pm   Men’s Discus Throw Decathalon Group B

11:00pm   WOMEN’S 4*100M RELAY HEATS

11:20pm   MEN’S 4*100M RELAY HEATS

12:15am    Men’s Pole Vault Decathalon

Thursday’s Schedule for Beijing! Finals in the am!

*Channels – TVJ/TVJSN

*Driving? – Hits 92FM

THURSDAY MORNING, AUGUST 27 – Jamaica time

6:00am     Women’s Hammer Throw Final

6:05am     MEN’S 110M HURDLES SEMI-FINAL

6:10am     Men’s Triple Jump Final

6:35am     WOMEN’S 200M SEMI-FINAL

7:05am     Women’s 800m Semi-Final

7:40am     WOMEN’S 400M FINAL

7:55am     MEN’S 200M FINAL

THURSDAY NIGHT, AUGUST 27 – Jamaica time

7:30pm    Women’s 20km Race Walk Final

8:00pm    Men’s 100m Decathalon

8:45pm    Men’s High Jump Qualification

9:05pm    Men’s Long Jump Decathalon

10:55pm  Men’s Shot Put Decathalon

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What happened this am in Beijing?! -Bolt says he will NOT lose to Gatlin in the 200m Final, VCB runs out of her lane in the 200m and more!

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BEIJING WEDNESDAY AM UPDATE:

400m Hurdles Final

Hejnova of the Czech Republic wins Gold! Little from the USA came 2nd to upset teammate, Tate who won Bronze.

Jamaica’s Janieve Russell 5th and where was Kaliese Spencer?! At first I thought she disappointed but she apparently hit a hurdle which put off her whole race and sadly she finished last.

Men’s Javelin Final

Kenya’s Julius Yego won Gold! KENYA winning in Javelin! Finally. They have been killing animals that way for ages. Now it’s dinner time. He is now the 3rd man in history to throw 92.72m. Now WL.

200m Women’s Heats

All 3 Jamaican ladies through to the semis. Elaine and VCB won their heats impressively. BUT VCB was lucky to not get DQd, as she ran into the outside line on the curb and stayed in that athlete’s lane all the way to the finish line! Luckily it was not an athlete from the USA that would complain and the officials stated that VCB did not impede her because the other athlete was way behind.

Sherone came 2nd in her Heat.

Dafne Schippers is running the 200m! She looks even stronger than the 100m. She is strong and will finish fast. Look out Elaine and Tarmoh!

Okagbare dropped out before the heats were run.

200m Men Semis

Semi Final 1

Where was Weir?! Weir has not been on top of his form but we all expected better. Weir was in a packed semi final with GB’s Hughs, the Greek, Ashmeade, Martina and Lemaitre.

Weir normally has a fast finish. Instead, he ran out too fast and had nothing left for the final 80m or so. He finished way behind in 7th.

Hughs was 1st in 20.14.

Ashmeade surprisingly stepped it up to 2nd. Suga still does not expect anything impressive from him in the final. He is yet to prove himself when it counts.

Martina came 3rd in 20.20 SB

Lemaitre last.

Semi Final 2

Panama’s Edward, Gatlin, Qatar’s Ogunode and Forte

19.87 was the winning time for Gatlin. Edward was 2nd and Forte was way behind. He was running with men of a different class.

Semi Final 3

Usain took it easily in 19.95s followed closely by SA’s Jobodwana and Guliyev from Turkey in 3rd.

In an interview, Usain Bolt said he will NOT lose to Gatlin in the final. He will do whatever it takes!

See pic with all Qualifiers for the final!

Lane assignents of interest for the 200m Men’s final:

Lane 4 -Gatlin

Lane 5 – Hughes

Lane 6 – Bolt

Lane 7 – Jobodwana

Lane 8 – Ashmeade

Lane 9 – Edward

Men’s 400m Final

South Africa’s Van Niekerk ran out crazy fast and sustained his lead around the curb, then kicked up another gear to hold off USA’s LeShawn Merritt who won silver and Kerani James tried hard but finished 3rd.

Thursday’s Schedule for Beijing! Finals in the am!

*Channels – TVJ/TVJSN

*Driving? Hits 92FM

THURSDAY MORNING AUGUST 27 – Jamaica time

6:00am     Women’s Hammer Throw Final

6:05am     MEN’S 110M HURDLES SEMI-FINAL

6:10am     Men’s Triple Jump Final

6:35am     WOMEN’S 200M SEMI-FINAL

7:05am     Women’s 800m Semi-Final

7:40am     WOMEN’S 400M FINAL

7:55am     MEN’S 200M FINAL

THURSDAY NIGHT, AUGUST 27 – Jamaica time

7:30pm    Women’s 20km Racewalk Final

8:00pm    Men’s 100m Decathalon

8:45pm    Men’s High Jump Qualification

9:05pm    Men’s Long Jump Decathalon

10:55pm  Men’s Shot Put Decathalon

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Sort out your routine tomorrow morning because Wednesday am’s Beijing Schedule is packed!

*Channels: TVJ/TVJSN

Driving? – Hits 92FM

WEDNESDAY MORNING, AUGUST 26 – Jamaica time

6:00am     Women’s Pole Vault Final

6:05am     Men’s Javelin Throw Final

6:15am     WOMEN’S 200M HEATS *(Finals Fri 8 am)

7:10am     WOMEN’S 400M HURDLES FINAL

7:30am     MEN’S 200M SEMI-FINAL *(Finals Thurs 7:55am)

8:00am     Women’s 3000m Steeplechase Final

8:25am     Men’s 400m Final

WEDNESDAY NIGHT, AUGUST 26 – Jamaica time

8:30pm    Men’s Discus Throw Qualification Group A

8:35pm    Women’s High Jump Qualification

8:40pm    Women’s 5000m Heats

9:20pm    Women’s Long Jump Qualification

9:35pm    Men’s 1500m Heats

9:50pm    Men’s Discus Throw Qualification Group B

10:15pm  WOMEN’S 100M HURDLES HEATS

Also, here is your BEIJING UPDATE!

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Women’s Triple Jump Final

Well done Kimberly Williams! Jamaica is proud of you for coming 5th in the Women’s Triple Jump Final. Ja’s Thomas also put out a lot of effort and finished 11th.

400m Women Semis

All FOUR of Jamaica’s ladies have made it through to the 400m Finals! Day, Novlene, Shericka and McPherson. The field will also be packed with Shaunae Miller from the Bahamas, USA’s Allyson Felix and Great Britain’s Ohuruogu. Whoever runs the most tactical race will win!

200m Men Heats

All FOUR of Ja’s men have made it to the 200m Semi-finals – Usain, Weir, Forte and Ashmeade. Usain and Weir are looking good.

Gatlin of course ran out. His campaigne for revenge starts now.

De Grasse of Canada was a no show!

USA’s Isiah Young was a hyped up flop and didn’t even make it to the semis. He ran out way too hard and then decelerated.

Look out for Edwards from Panama, Jobodwana from South Africa, Guliyev from Turkey and young Zarnel Hughes from Great Britain.

400m Men’s Hurdles Final

BETT from Kenya won the 400m Men’s Hurdles Final! Tinsley from USA did not even place! He just looked tired after he hit one of the hurdles badly. Gentlemen from Russia and Bahamas 2nd and 3rd respectively.

1500m Women’s Final:

Genzebe DiBaba won Gold! Her first global title. She can now join her well decorated sister who took time off to have a baby.

800m Men’s Final

Kenya’s David Rudisha reclaimed the title he won in 2011, winning Gold! He is also the World record holder for the event.

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How was Kingston Kitchen?

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Kingston Kitchen was crawling with people when I arrived a little after 8pm last Saturday at Hope Gardens.

As I walked in I was happy to see one of my favourites, Stush in the Bush to my left, so that was my first stop. An Avocado Green Goddess Dressing immediately caught my eyes. Avocado and Guacamole are very popular right now. As a result, they were totally out of product and it was still early. A sample bottle was left. I got to taste it with a cracker and it was lovely. Now this Avocado dressing is quite versatile. You can use it on your burgers and Lisa Binns of Stush in the Bush even advised it is lovely on pasta with a sprinkle of parmesan. Yum! Remember their products are located at CPJ Market on Lady Musgrave Road.

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Moving along, I was greeted by a Suga Bear who told me that Suzanne Couch‘s food was a winner. I found a long line nearby. It wasn’t clear that it was her tent because she needed a bigger sign, but clearly word spread fast especially since she has a reputation for good quality food. Her meal was $800JMD including 2 meats (choices were Panko Fish, Sate Chicken Skewers and Pork), Oriental Cucumber salad, Coconut rice, Jerk Corn and Pasta Alfredo. Not to mention the variety of sauces offered such as Mango Chutney, Pineapple Salsa and Peanut Sauce. The picture featured does not do the quality of the meal justice as presentation was sloppy with everything piled on each other. But that heap of rice actually covered a good portion of my pork. The Pork was quite fatty but everything else was delicious. The Pasta Alfredo was spicy, so the Cucumber salad was a great choice to quell that heat.

Other highlights and observations? Persons got lucky with salivating Chicken and Waffles and the Lucky Bucket overflowing with extremely peppery Seafood and more such as Crab, Lobster legs, Louisiana Sausage, Corn, Potatoes etc. The Lucky Bucket that usually costs $1500JMD incl. Tax and Service Charge was just $800JMD for the night. What a deal! Both can be found at the Lucky Strike Lounge inside the Jamzone Bowling Alley in Manor Centre, Kingston 8 on Wednesday nights from 7pm-11pm.

Liqy Liqy and Tutti Frutti pleased as usual.

The Best Dressed Chicken Tent with Chef Brian Lumley had its familiar fans to see the Celebrity Chef at work and of course to taste what he had to offer. Apparently the Oxtail Wontons and Oxtail Pasta were a hit. Anything Chef Brian Lumley tends to do with Oxtail is perfection.

Reggae Jammin had delicious White Chocolate Smoothies and I also satisfied my craving for Magic Mint Lemonade from Tea Tree Creperie. On point!

The Ribs from Sheriff’s BBQ was not all that, also quite tough, but Lamb from NCR Sheep ‘sell off’! Literally.

Sliders from Fromage Gourmet Market were a hit as expected.

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Potato Pudding that was $150JMD a slice from Del & Dutchy touched the right spot. They cater, specialising in Jamaican dishes and operate out of Liguanea, Kingston 6. Looks like they are worth a try so call 876-833-0727 or email [email protected] for more information.

New Kids on the block, Ikiru, do not have a location yet but they are on Facebook. Persons who were in need of a refreshing drink with no added sugar and preservatives were pleased with their natural Naseberry and Papaya juices. They also had Fruit salads and Fruits with Yoghurt.

Pebble’s Pastries was there. Most of us know that the only thing good from them is their Cheesecake but Suga found Cheesecake on the other side of Kingston Kitchen too! It was from Sweet World Enterprise that operates out of Portmore, featuring Molly’s Cake Cups with Cheesecake in many different forms such as Oreo cheesecake, Red velvet cheesecake, the traditional Strawberry cheesecake and the list goes on for $600JMD each. Samples were given (God bless them!) and a hard decision was made between the Oreo Cheesecake and Strawberry Cheesecake. The narrow edge went to the Strawberry Cheesecake. It was divine. Not sure if they had cute little bags to put them in, but they were not offered so a lot of persons had to remember to come back to them and pick up before they left if they were too full like myself to have that on the spot. Check out Molly’s Cake Cups on Facebook and Instagram.

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Overall, food was affordable, a lot of filling food in the range of $500-800JMD and other booths not mentioned seemed to be well supported too. So I think it is safe to say the event was a success, especially for those who went mainly to socialize, have a family night, girls’ night out and to lyme. It is a pity they had to do it with the painfully annoying, loud saxophonist in the background. Until next time!

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Tuesday’s Schedule for World Champs Beijing! 200m Men’s Heats Tomorrow morning!

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First of all, Congratulations to our Pocket Rocket, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce for winning Gold for the 3rd time at the World Championships 100m Finals this morning in 10.76s! With the times Shelly has been running, she knew she was in a class by herself and celebrated before the line. She will sure get a mouthful from Coach Francis about that. Look out for the Dutchie who she passed on the right hand side, Dafne Schippers next year who has been running well all season, who finished in a close second with a PB of 10.81. US’s Torie Bowie finished 3rd, edging out our very own VCB. Congrats also to VCB who still went all out an managed to finish 4th in a packed field! Imagine Okagbare came last. The 4*100m relay should be a thriller.

200m action starts tomorrow morning. Look out for Ja’s Warren Weir, Usain Bolt, Julian Forte and Nickel Ashmeade! Check out the schedule below.

*Channels – TVJ OR TVJSN

Driving? – Hits 92FM

TUESDAY MORNING, AUGUST 25 – Jamaica time

6:00am     Women’s Discus Throw Final

6:05am     WOMEN’S 400M SEMI-FINAL

6:25am     Men’s Long Jump Final

6:30am     MEN’S 200M HEATS

7:25am     Men’s 400m Hurdles Final

7:35am     Women’s 1500m Final

7:55am     Men’s 800m Final

TUESDAY NIGHT, AUGUST 25 – Jamaica time

8:30pm    Women’s Hammer Throw Qualification Group A

8:35pm    Men’s 5000m Heats

9:00pm    Men’s Triple Jump Qualification

9:25pm    WOMEN’S 800M HEATS

9:55pm    Women’s Hammer Throw Qualification Group B

10:20pm  MEN’S 110M HURDLES HEATS

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Gold and Bronze to start the Medal Tally for Jamaica in Beijing!

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Congratulations to our first medal winner of the World Championships in Beijing 2015, O’Dayne Richards for winning the Bronze in Shot Put! A first for Jamaica at a senior World Championship, as we now start to widen our dominance in the sport. Richards finished with 21.69, a new National record. He set the mark going into the lead at one point, putting the pressure on the American and German to surpass that mark. They went on to go over the 22 mark, which Richards says his aim is for the future.

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Now, for the race the world was waiting for. The Legendary USAIN BOLT delivered, winning the Men’s 100m Men’s Final in Beijing in 9.79s ahead of Justin Gatlin’s 9.80s! The odds were against him to win. Literally. 1.85 to Justin Gatlin and 1.90 to Usain Bolt. Usain has been plagued with injuries and has hardly been able to compete all season. This should be difficult for any athlete to recover from, much less win. His last race was in London at a Diamond League meet, where he ran 9.87s. So I understand the feeling of doubt by Jamaicans and others. But if there was no sign of panic in Usain’s camp, the ‘BIG MAN’ said he was ready and from you watched his heat on Saturday morning, that doubt should have vanished. Nerves were there, naturally more than usual with a fake smile and less jovial antics at the start, however his confidence was there as well.

Gatlin now, has been practically running sub 9.8 all season. But guess what? He did not do that after rounds. Those were one-off races without the pressure of the real ‘Big Man’, Usain Bolt. Gatlin tightened up from 50m. We all know that if Bolt is ahead at 50m, with the start he had, it means ‘Catch me if you can’. Seeing the race slip away from him even further and possible memories of the last time he met and was beat by Bolt in Moscow 2013, Gatlin literally buckled under the pressure and started begging for the line from about 10m out.

If Gatlin focused on his own race instead of watching Bolt, could he have clipped Bolt at the line? No. Suga thinks Bolt would have felt him coming and since he has now been described as a super hero, would have flown across the line. Anyhow, ‘coulda, shoulda, never’! Gatlin just never won and no matter what he tried, running his own race or not, he would not have beat Bolt in that final. Who told him to run 9.77 in the semis and overwork his legs? Unnecessary and foolish. If Bolt didn’t stumble and have to run hard to play catch up and win in his semi-final, the outcome could have been even more embarrassing for Gatlin. So he messed up and he knew it. All those sub 9.8s didn’t matter after the final yesterday. He could not beat the ‘World Boss’, hence the choking back of tears in one of his interviews afterwards. You would think he would humble himself now, but not at all after various delusional tweets about how he let Bolt win and he will break the World record in Rio etc. Remember Gatlin, we still have the 200m to go!

Oh wait, the usual question after a 100m major final is finished, where was Asafa? The ‘Sub 10 King’ failed to live up to his title by placing 7th in 10.00s. He ran to the line this time though. It is clear after a hard run in the semis with Tyson Gay that his legs just did not have any more strength to medal in the final. I have thought for a long time that Asafa should attempt the 200m to develop more endurance in the 100m. Sadly it may be too late for that now, as age is not on his side. But thanks for at least making a decent effort this time.

Speaking of 200m, if Usain decides to run, he is ready. Look out for the Canadian, De Grasse, as Suga thinks he is even better at the 200m than the 100m, so will be a threat to Jamaica’s Warren Weir and even Gatlin.

Continue to enjoy the Championships and stay tuned to Suga Lifestyle! Now let us watch that 100m final AGAIN!