Usain Bolt poses beside the digital clock displaying his world record 19.19 seconds done at the Berlin World Championships in 2009.
FORMER American sprinter Steve Williams is backing double World Record holder Usain Bolt to beat Justin Gatlin when they eventually meet later this year at the IAAF World Championships in Beijing, China.
In a recent interview with the Jamaica Observer at Icahn Stadium in New York, the venue for the most recent IAAF Diamond League meeting two weeks ago, Williams, who like Bolt, is well over six feet tall, said Bolt’s quality and experience running fast times gave the big Jamaican the edge.
“I have always believed that if you have a certain speed in your tank, you can run slower than that and still win; Bolt still has the record at a big enough number that on a bad day from his personal record he should still win,” Williams said.
It was difficult for the 61-year-old, who battled Jamaican Olympic champion Donald Quarrie over several years in some epic sprint races, to disguise his absolute delight in finally meeting Bolt, the double World Record holder.
“I enjoy watching him compete as a big man,” Williams told said. “To have mastered all the techniques, including the great starts at his height, is truly an achievement in itself.”
He dismissed Bolt’s sluggish 20.29 seconds in the 200m, the athlete’s slowest time since 2006. “Today you know he wasn’t challenged, he knew he wasn’t challenged, when you spend the early part of the year slowly building into shape that’s what you are supposed to do. He is on course; I was watching the race with (Bolt’s coach Glen) Mills and you could see he knew he had some work to do; he had things he wanted to say but they know each other and they trust each other,” said the former sprinter.
Williams would know a thing or two about setting world records as he did on four occasions between 1973 and 1976. He lowered the 100m record and also had world marks in the 100 and 220-yard dashes.
He was ranked number one in the world in the 100m and 200m in 1973 and again in the 100m in 1975, but was at his very best in 1977 when he won the World Cup title in the 100m and anchored the American 4x100m team that included Bill Collins, Steve Riddick and Cliff Wiley to a world record.
Williams has personal bests of 9.9 seconds (hand-timed) in the 100m done in Zurich in 1978 and 10.07 seconds timed electronically and 19.8 seconds hand timed in the 200m (20.16 seconds electronically).
He never got the chance to run at the Olympics, however, and has been called the best sprinter never to compete at the Olympics as he was injured in 1976 when the event was held in Montreal, Canada. Four years later he watched his chance go up in smoke as the USA boycotted the 1980 event in Moscow, Russia.
Williams said any suggestion that Bolt’s dominance or abilities being in decline should be dismissed. “I still see all the glimpses in him that he had in 2008; he is still a big powerful guy, rangy, with good footwork, footwork like a dancer. I am 6′ 4″ and he is 6′ 5″, but he moves so easily.”
When asked to pick who would win when Bolt and Gatlin met, there was a suggestion that he might be inclined to go with his compatriot, but he bristled at the suggestion.
“I ate with Prime Minister (Michael) Manley at Jamaica House, so I am honorary Jamaican. And I was sitting in the stands with Don Quarrie talking about how we loved to compete against each other and respected each other,” he said.
“With that being said, it has been a great, great year so far for Gatlin, but for Usain every time the gun goes off, I see what he sees… the gun goes off, I am a tall guy, the other guy has a great start, go get them, depending on how far Gatlin gets away and can he go get him,” Williams reasoned.
Having run 9.58 seconds for the world record and gone under 9.70 seconds three times, Williams thinks Bolt has the class to reclaim his title.
How fast would he have to run to win his third 100m title and fourth 200m title at the World Championships? Williams said at times the fast times don’t come after all the build-up.
“When you have this big anticipation for championship races, the world record sometimes don’t come out of these championship races,” he said.
Williams postulated that Bolt’s struggles in the early part of the season might even be good for him. “Bolt needs what’s going on now, someone to challenge him, someone to inspire him, but also someone to pace the first part of the race; it sounds crazy to think that in any sprint that someone is pacing you, but when you are as big and tall like we are and you can go and get them, the faster the first part is the more you have to inspire yourself to go get them. That’s where the records are,” he said.