Veteran Jamaican sprinter Yohan Blake has seen injuries and poor form slow down his career, to the extent some have written him off, but how can he make a stunning comeback?
Jamaican sprinter Yohan Blake remains the second fastest man in history but he is now a shadow of his former self as far as sprinting is concerned.
Blake may be doing well in business now but when it comes to running, his stock has fallen badly to the extent critics claim he is finished and needs to retire.
The sprinter’s last major event was the 2022 World Championships when he exited the 100m at the semi-final while he could not go past the heats in the 200m.
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Since then, he has had to watch from home as others competed at the 2023 World Championships and the Paris Olympics and for a man who has two world titles and as many Olympics gold, it must have been hurting.
Indeed, Blake expressed his frustrations in July last year when he accused Jamaicans of not respecting him despite what he did for the country after he had finished last in 100m at the London Diamond League.
That was the first and only race of the year for him and he has not been seen since but for a sprinter, who trained with Usain Bolt and even challenged him, clocking the second fastest time in history of 9.69 seconds, there are ways in which he can banish retirement talk and make a stunning comeback.
5 ways Yohan Blake can banish retirement talk & make stunning comeback
Stay injury free
Yohan Blake reveals special meal that made him threaten Usain Bolt’s record in 2012
It may not be easy as it sounds but Yohan Blake needs to stay away from injuries if he has to banish retirement talk and make a stunning comeback.
Injuries have limited Blake from realizing his full potential in the latter years of his career and they forced him out of the 2023 Worlds and 2024 Paris Olympics, leading to frustrations.
Whether it is a total change of lifestyle or diet, Blake needs that badly if he has to make a great return and start winning again ahead of the 2025 World Championships.
Reduced workload
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Yohan Blake at the London 2012 Olympic Games
With the injuries he has had, Blake will be best advised to choose carefully the races he features in as it would be catastrophic if he was all over the place given how his body has been failing him.
Yohan Blake would therefore need to ensure he only runs races that help him maintain optimum conditions as this is the only way he can avoid burnout and issues with his muscles.
Forget what critics say
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Jamaican sprinter Yohan Blake (Credit: Instagram/@yohanblake)
Yohan Blake seems also to have been affected by those who have written him off and mentally, he is yet to fully recover from that.
An athlete without a focused mind cannot do much whatever effort they put in and instead of listening to what his doubters say, Blake should concentrate on what really matters and have some positive energy around him.
Find a new coach, perhaps?
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Yohan Blake is 5 ft 11 in tall (Credit: Imago)
There has been a rise in the number of sprinters switching to the United States to work with new coaches and could this also benefit Yohan Blake?
Blake works with coach Gregory Little of the Titans Athletics Club but their partnership has not yielded much in terms of track success like when he was under the legendary Glen Mills.
The tactician has been optimistic that his charge can return to his brilliant best, if he avoids injuries, but maybe, allowing him to experience something else might be helpful now that he spends a lot of time in the US where he has business interests.
Embrace underdog tag
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Yohan Blake
There is no denying that Yohan Blake is not the revered sprinter of old as the world has seen the emergence of new and young runners whom the 35-year-old will struggle against when he makes his return.
However, to banish the retirement talk and make a stunning comeback, Blake has to accept that he is now the underdog and is playing second fiddle to most of his competitors as this will allow him to get into races without pressure.
Expectations now are on others and without the spotlight, he can go under the radar and plot his major return without people expecting too much from him.
