BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – FANS of the Federation’s sprint king, Kim Collins, have once more classified him as good old wine (mellowing with age), as he clocked the fastest time in his athletic career on Saturday (July 7) at the Meeting Stanislas – Nancy in France.
In what was termed a photo finish, Collins crossed the finish line in the 100m dash behind America’s Mike Rodgers in a wind-aided 9.96 seconds, shaving 0.02 seconds off his fastest time of 9.98 seconds when he won Gold at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England in 2002.
Others who participated in that race were: Trell Kimmons of the USA, who ran third in 10.06 seconds; Jamaica’s Mario Forsythe fourth in 10.07 seconds; USA’s Calesio Newman fifth in 10.09 seconds; and Frenchmen Ronald Pognon, Brahim Raggui and Boubacar Sakho who placed sixth, seventh and eighth in 10.20, 10.42 and 10.54 seconds respectively.
According to the Telegraph Online Newspapers, Collins predicted that all eight runners in the London Olympic 100m final would, for the first time, all dip under the 10-second barrier.
Last week in Ostrava, Czech Republic, the 36-year-old veteran ran second to the Olympic champion and world record holder, Usain Bolt, and the pair is scheduled to meet again on Thursday night (July 12) in the Diamond League showdown in Rome.
Five of the athletes who will be competing in the London Olympic 100m have already broken the 10-second barrier and The Telegraph has quoted Collins as saying in the Italian capital on Wednesday that “I’m definitely not surprised [at the quick times] because it’s an Olympic year and for me it’s not just competition…it’s mad competition.
“This year is going to be special. This year you’re probably going to see eight men in a race under 10 sec…so keep watching”.
The online media house also noted Collins suggested that Bolt’s rivals’ only chances of beating him are if the Jamaican legend starts running slower.
“It’s very complicated, someone was saying to me that in order to beat Bolt I’ll have to run 9.5 sec,” Collins added. “What I explained is that to beat Bolt he has to just go slower than me. If he goes 9.5 sec that day I can’t catch him…I can’t run 9.5 sec, that’s not on my plate. When Bolt runs slow one day, I can beat him.”
The London Olympics will be Collins’ fifth attempt at medalling at this level of the sports discipline.
