KINGSTON: Jamaican Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt was beaten in his first race of the 2013 season on Saturday, finishing third in a low-key 400 metre event in his hometown of Kingston.
The triple gold medallist from both the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympics easily won his heat in 46.71 seconds at the Camperdown Classic.
But he had to settle for third place overall after his training partners Warren Weir and Yohan Blake both posted faster times.
“I’m happy, I’ve never been so nervous running a 400m but overall I’m happy. Physically I felt good, not as good as I normally would, but overall I feel good,” said Bolt.
“I didn’t matter about the time, I just wanted to complete this race, I know I may have one more for the season, maybe two depending on what the coach wants.”
Weir, who finished third behind Bolt and Blake in the 200m final at London last year, won in a personal best time of 46.21 seconds.
Blake, racing in the same heat as Weir, stopped the clock at 46.64 after fading in the final straight following a blistering start.
“I feel strong, I tested myself in the first part of the race, that is what got the better of me in the home straight, but I’m feeling pretty good,” said Blake, who won the 100m world championship in 2011 when Bolt was disqualified for a false start.
“Training is going really... you know, I’m confident, I have the world championships to defend my title and coach (Glen) Mills is just working on the different parts of my race and I’m feeling good.”
Meanwhile, Bolt is getting to ready to show them he can jump as well when he appears at the NBA’s All-Star weekend in Houston.
Bolt was invited to play in the Celebrity Game, featuring a mixture of well-known people from all walks of life, including some former NBA players at the showcase weekend from February 15-17.
“I’m very excited, you know,” Bolt said after opening his track and field season. REUTERS
