media_artricles :: 2017

Rough start

Callender and Bledman out early

Emmanuel Callender and Keston Bledman exited the men's 100 metres event in round one on the opening day of the IAAF World Championships here in London, England, yesterday.

Fifth in heat two in 10.25 seconds, Callender was too slow to secure a semi-final lane via the "fastest loser" route. The Trinidad and Tobago sprinter was 27th overall, missing out on the 24th and final qualification berth by mere milliseconds. Five-thousandths of a second faster, and Callender would have been back at the London Stadium today, battling for a spot in the final.

"I'm disappointed with my execution," Callender told the Express, shortly after the race. "My steps kind of stumbled a bit. I then tried to catch my rhythm, but I rushed it. But God is still good. Hopefully, I'll get into the next round."

Unfortunately for the national champion, it was not in God's plan for him to advance. By the end of heat three, Callender was out of the "race" for one of six "fastest loser" spots.

Bledman was fourth in heat five in 10.26 seconds, the T&T speedster finishing 29th overall. There was a delay when Bledman, unsettled in the blocks, raised his hand. And on the second attempt to start the race, South African Thando Roto got out too early and was disqualified.

Bledman told the Express that Roto's false start might well have cost him a semi berth.

"I felt good, but the start that I got they called it back. I went back in the blocks and I was real timid. The starter was holding you long, and that's why I put up my hand the first time. My hand started shaking.

"But plain talk, bad manners," the Florida-based sprinter continued. "I'm not in the form I want to be. I was just hoping it could happen here. To be honest, I can't wait for this season to finish. My mind is in it, but at the same time, when you're not running how you want to, it's hard. I'm training hard, I'm running some crazy times in practice, but when I come out here I don't know what's going on."

Bledman has a 9.86 seconds PR (personal record), but has only managed a 10.08 season's best in 2017, and has clocked 10.26 in his last four outings.

"I was feeling I could have shut down my season. Some of the guys that beat me, never in their life, even on my worst day, had beaten me before. And to run those kind of boo times…I'm consistent, but consistent at 10.26 is not going to do anything."

Bledman said that while he accepted that success at London 2017 was not to be, the pain of disappointing his daughter Zion was tough to deal with.

"What God has in store for me, it would come, so I'm not really stressing. But when I'm talking to my daughter later, tears are going to come to my eyes. If she's going to sleep, she would say 'mammy, wake me up when daddy's going to run'. She's my biggest fan."

There is no athlete with more fans than Usain Bolt. Yesterday, he kept them all happy by winning heat six in 10.07 seconds to progress safely to the semis. Bolt's fellow-Jamaican, Julian Forte was the fastest sprinter on show, topping heat three in 9.99.

Also winning their round one heats were Americans Christian Coleman (10.01) and Justin Gatlin (10.05), China's Su Bingtian (10.03), and Japan's Abdul Hakim Sani Brown (10.05). The first semi-final takes place at 2.05 this afternoon (T&T time). The championship race is scheduled for 4.45.

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