Bolt to run in London – July 2009
LONDON (Reuters) – Triple Olympic sprint champion and world record holder Usain Bolt will fine-tune his world championship preparations by running the 100 meters at the London Grand Prix in July, organizers said on Monday.
Bolt took gold in the 100m, 200m and 4×100m relay in Beijing last year, all in world record time, and the 22-year-old Jamaican has confirmed that he will go over the shorter distance at the two-day London Grand Prix at Crystal Palace on July 24/25, three weeks before the world championships in Berlin.
“London is a great meet and the fans there really get behind everyone,” Bolt said in a statement.
“I normally base myself there during the summer so it is like a second home. As usual there will be strong competition but I guess that’s what I’ll need ahead of the world championships.”
Last year Bolt warmed up for his Olympic feats by running a 19.76 second 200 meters at Crystal Palace, the fastest 200m ever run in Britain.
“To win there in such style gave me a lot of pleasure. That helped to build my confidence toward achieving the three gold medals in Beijing a few weeks later,” he said.
Bolt will also run in England on May 17 when he goes over 150 meters in a street race in Manchester.
