<p>Blake emerged as a serious threat to his Jamaican compatriot's sprint dominance when he won the world 100 metres title in Daegu in August, taking gold in a final that produced the most drama before the gun when Bolt was sensationally disqualified for a false start. <br /><br />The 21-year-old Blake followed that up less than three weeks later with an eyebrow-raising run in Brussels — clocking the second fastest 200 metres of all time — his 19.26 seconds just seven hundredths of a second behind Bolt's world record of 19.19 set in 2009. <br /><br />Olympic 100 and 200 champion Bolt said he had "gotten over the initial shock" of how quick Blake ran. <br /><br />"Initially I was shocked because he's not really a great corner runner... but he's a great athlete and with great athletes you can expect anything," Bolt told a gaggle of reporters at a Monte Carlo hotel. <br /><br />Relaxing on a sofa and dressed casually in a white polo shirt and ripped light blue jeans, Bolt admitted, to much laughter, that his younger compatriot worked "a little harder" than he did. <br /><br />"I've said this to Yohan, and to a lot of my friends, the 200 is my favourite and I won't let Yohan beat me over 200 metres," Bolt said. <br /><br />"The 100 (metres) maybe, but I've worked hard to perfect that event (the 200) over the years so I've told him already I won't let it happen." <br /><br />Their competitive rivalry, Bolt said, shone through in training, day in, day out. <br /><br />"From the first time he walked into our camp he's been competing with me. Sometimes he beats me — it doesn't matter, it's only training. He's a really competitive person... I have to explain to him that he's got to relax sometimes. <br /><br />"He's young and excited but fun to be around. We laugh every day, his personality is great and it's great to have him as a training partner." <br /><br />Bolt atoned for his false start in Daegu by comfortably retaining his 200 title before anchoring the Jamaican 4x100M relay team to win gold in a world record time. <br /><br />The 25-year-old returned to training three weeks ago at a "high intensity" level. <br /><br />"Injury-wise I'm good," said Bolt, whose 2010 season was curtailed by injury which he said meant this year's campaign revolved around him "getting back into shape.”<br /><br />"No problems so far," he said. "Hopefully I can keep it that way. I'm doing my core exercises, my back exercises, hamstring exercises... everything just to make sure the injuries stay away this season." <br /><br />With the London 2012 Olympic Games looming, Bolt said he was "fully focused". <br /><br />"This is a big season and you have to try and get ahead of the game because a lot of athletes have started their season early. <br /><br />"The Olympics is the biggest stage for an athlete, I know the value of a gold medal... when the Olympics come around, athletes show up on the day so I'm focused on everyone."</p>
<p>Blake emerged as a serious threat to his Jamaican compatriot's sprint dominance when he won the world 100 metres title in Daegu in August, taking gold in a final that produced the most drama before the gun when Bolt was sensationally disqualified for a false start. <br /><br />The 21-year-old Blake followed that up less than three weeks later with an eyebrow-raising run in Brussels — clocking the second fastest 200 metres of all time — his 19.26 seconds just seven hundredths of a second behind Bolt's world record of 19.19 set in 2009. <br /><br />Olympic 100 and 200 champion Bolt said he had "gotten over the initial shock" of how quick Blake ran. <br /><br />"Initially I was shocked because he's not really a great corner runner... but he's a great athlete and with great athletes you can expect anything," Bolt told a gaggle of reporters at a Monte Carlo hotel. <br /><br />Relaxing on a sofa and dressed casually in a white polo shirt and ripped light blue jeans, Bolt admitted, to much laughter, that his younger compatriot worked "a little harder" than he did. <br /><br />"I've said this to Yohan, and to a lot of my friends, the 200 is my favourite and I won't let Yohan beat me over 200 metres," Bolt said. <br /><br />"The 100 (metres) maybe, but I've worked hard to perfect that event (the 200) over the years so I've told him already I won't let it happen." <br /><br />Their competitive rivalry, Bolt said, shone through in training, day in, day out. <br /><br />"From the first time he walked into our camp he's been competing with me. Sometimes he beats me — it doesn't matter, it's only training. He's a really competitive person... I have to explain to him that he's got to relax sometimes. <br /><br />"He's young and excited but fun to be around. We laugh every day, his personality is great and it's great to have him as a training partner." <br /><br />Bolt atoned for his false start in Daegu by comfortably retaining his 200 title before anchoring the Jamaican 4x100M relay team to win gold in a world record time. <br /><br />The 25-year-old returned to training three weeks ago at a "high intensity" level. <br /><br />"Injury-wise I'm good," said Bolt, whose 2010 season was curtailed by injury which he said meant this year's campaign revolved around him "getting back into shape.”<br /><br />"No problems so far," he said. "Hopefully I can keep it that way. I'm doing my core exercises, my back exercises, hamstring exercises... everything just to make sure the injuries stay away this season." <br /><br />With the London 2012 Olympic Games looming, Bolt said he was "fully focused". <br /><br />"This is a big season and you have to try and get ahead of the game because a lot of athletes have started their season early. <br /><br />"The Olympics is the biggest stage for an athlete, I know the value of a gold medal... when the Olympics come around, athletes show up on the day so I'm focused on everyone."</p>
