Jamaica’s Usain Bolt gestures during a press conference in London on Tuesday http://www.detroitredwingsteamstore.com … owe-jersey , ahead of the athletics world championships, which kick off tomorrow. — Reuters
JUST in the unlikely case that the world of athletics did not know what they will be missing once Usain Bolt walks away in less than two weeks, the Jamaican superstar’s final eve-of-race news conference rammed home the message on Tuesday.
These events have become part and parcel of every global championship and though Tuesday’s version in east London lacked the dancing girl razzmatazz of his Rio welcome last year, it scored heavily on nostalgia as every aspect of his stellar career was raked over anew. As always, journalists and TV crews, around 400 of them, from every corner of the world packed every available space and strained their arms in desperation to get their question answered by the great man, who playfully castigated one half of the auditorium for not giving him an enthusiastic enough welcome.
Bolt is an old hand of course and rolled out all the familiar answers, but always with grace. His proudest moment was winning the world junior title on home soil as a 15-year-old while his most satisfying performance was his 200 meters world record run in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where he poured all his concentration into getting the mark he had always wanted, having earlier danced over the line when winning the 100. He explained how his motivation to keep putting his body through such a punishing regime was renewed each year by resetting his goals.
His target in London is clear — to sign off with a fourth 100 title and a fifth 4x100 relay gold — taking his world haul to 13 to add to his eight Olympic golds — and then head off to play football with his friends and have fun.
“I’m ready,” he said. “If I show up at a championships you know I’m fully confident and ready to go.
“I ran 9.95 in Monaco so it shows I’m going in the right direction. Going through the rounds always helps me and it’s then about who can keep their nerve.
“It’s go time, so let’s go.”
The London Stadium, where he successfully defended his sprint double in the 2012 Olympics, will rise to acclaim him when he settles into his blocks for the last time on Saturday night.
Then, other than the relay a week later, he will be gone, leaving the sport without the man who has been its focal point for a decade.
Tuesday’s event included big screen “farewell and thanks” messages from the likes of actors Samuel L Jackson and Idris Elba, former France footballer Thierry Henry, model Cara Delevingne and India cricket captain Virat Kohli, underlining his status as probably one of the world’s most admired sportsman.
Bolt, who turns 31 later this month, looked moved by the images, saying: “It’s just brilliant that people in other disciplines respect what you do as they know the work you have to do.” British TV had screened his “I am Bolt” film on Monday, which opened a window on the rarely seen battles he has had to go through to overcome so many injuries and was a testament to his willingness to work himself back into shape year after year.
That is one thing he will not miss, and although he thrives on the pressure of the big race, he says he is looking forward to watching the next one from the sidelines. “Oh yeah, sitting down, talking about it, no pressure,” he said. “The next championship should be fun.
“It’s going to be hard, as track and field has been everything for me since I was 10 and it’s been a rush — but we’ll see where life takes me.”
He intends to stay close to athletics and is eyeing some sort of roving ambassadorial role, inspiring the world’s youth to get involved in a sport he says is on the up after reaching “rock bottom” with the Russian doping crisis of two years ago.
By John Kwoba
NAIROBI, August 1 (Xinhua) -- Hopes are high as Kenya's first batch of 28 athletes departs from Nairobi on Tuesday for the London World Championships, where they will face a huge challenge to successfully defend their overall title won in 2015.
Kenya, which will have a full team of 54 athletes, aims to better its last performance in the Beijing World Championships where they scooped up 16 medals - seven gold, six silver and three bronze.
Jamaica was second with 12 medals -seven gold, two silver and three bronze- while the United States settled for third place with 18 medals - six gold, six silver and six bronze.
Head coach Julius Kirwa was emphatic the team will perform well despite the last minute withdrawal of Olympic and World 800m champion David Rudisha.
"This team is not about a single individual. All these athletes merit to be included in the team and they will do their best to secure medals for Kenya in London. But we also know that there will be stiff challenge in traditionally Kenyan competition in middle and long distance," Kirwa said by telephone on Tuesday.
"However, time and again we have proved that Kenya can produce athletes who can go and win medals in events not previously known to be controlled by Kenya. So it's up for grabs and the best athletes will triumph," he added.
The women's 800m will be led by Olympic bronze medalist Margaret Nyairera, who has openly taken her turf war to the doorsteps of South African Caster Semenya.
Nyairera clocked her fourth personal best time of the season in 1:59.68 when she won in Nairobi during the national trials and stretched the tape at the Monaco Diamond League. She will have Eunice Sum, the African and Commonwealth 800m champion, to partner with.
There was no surprise in the men's 10000m, as World Cross Country champion Geoffrey Kamworor will join Bedan Karoki and Paul Tanui in a remake of the team that represented Kenya in the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Kamworor, the two-time world cross country and world half-mar
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