2011 World 100m gold medallist, Yohan Blake, has promised a return to ‘beast mode’ for the upcoming Tokyo Olympic Games, reviving an association with a moniker he had given up several years ago.

Just a few months before competing in the 2016 Rio Olympics, Blake publicly stated that he wished not to be called 'the beast' anymore, an on-track persona that had seen him become the second fastest man ever over 200m, after clocking a lifetime best of 19.26secs in 2011.

On the back of a few serious injuries, however, Blake has failed to hit those heights since.  At Jamaica’s National Championships, after a disappointing second-place finish in the men's 100m finals, he was motivated to take the top spot in the 200m.

Unfortunately, things did not go as he had planned.  He was second-best yet again in his second final of the meet. 

With legendary sprint sensation Usain Bolt having retired in 2017, many will be fancying their chances of winning a prized gold medal, and among the hopefuls is Blake himself.

And, for the 32nd staging of the Olympic Games, Blake says he is taking back the 'beast mode' this summer.

"It was a transition that I thought that in myself that the beast represents evil but when I look at it, it’s just a fiction and for me, it’s just acting,” Blake said of the decision.

“It is not like I am taking on the beast, but I am drawing back for the beast, so the beast is going to be back at the Olympics,” he added.

 "I am feeling my old self, I am feeling everything and with God all things are possible. I am getting in my finishing touches and going back to my coach.”

Blake said that finishing second in both sprint events will not impact his confidence going into Tokyo because he is confident in his abilities.

"I know what I can do and definitely, I should have won that 100 with ease, but for some reason, God doesn't want the spotlight to be on me as yet. I just want to sneak up because I know I am not leaving that stadium without a medal."

JeVaughn Minzie's fifth-place finish in the men’s 100m, at the Jamaica National Championships, did not secure one of the automatic spots to Tokyo but it was a dream come true all the same as it did secure an appearance at a second straight Olympic Games.

The 25-year-old was confident heading into the race and insists he and was not intimidated by a strong field.  He had one job, and it was to be sitting on that flight to Tokyo next month.  Three automatic spots were up for grabs and, he was optimistic about his chances.

"For me as long as I made the Olympic team, that was my goal. Just making the Olympic team because I was struggling all season long and came out here back-to-back each time running a season's best. For me, making the team, just making the team, that's all I wanted,” Minzie told SportsMax.tv following the men’s final.

It was not his best-executed race, as many looking on would have noticed. He was made to chase the big guns from start to finish. As a result, the former Class 1 Boys 200M champion had to do a lot to hold on to his fifth-place ticket to Tokyo.

Minzie believes his struggles to secure one of the automatic spots are a result of the last phase of his race, he is convinced that the last forty metres of his race needs to improve before taking the track in Tokyo.

"(I am) working on my last forty metres, I believe that part of my race can get a lot better,” he added.

Minzie, the 2016 4x100m relay Olympic gold medalist, revealed that he will be aiming to finish in the top three of the 200m.

"Tomorrow in the 200 let’s see if I can make the team, stamp it, seal it this time around tomorrow for the 200m."

Minzie also took the time out to laud his mother, who he says gave him great motivation to finish strong at the national championships.

"My mommy called me last night and said, ‘guess what, run for your life' so that is what I just did, and I have made the team."

The finals of the men's 200m is scheduled for Sunday, at 8:45 pm. The former Bog Walk High Schoolboy will no doubt be looking to reclaim some of his Boys and Girls Championship glory.

Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce recorded the second-fastest time ever clocked over the women's 100m, after registering a blistering 10.63 to destroy the field at the JAAA Olympic Destiny Series, at the National Stadium on Saturday.

The mark, which was registered in a 1.3 legal wind reading, obliterated the country’s previous national record of 10.70 that she previously shared with compatriot Elaine Thompson-Herah. 

The run also moved the athlete up the world fastest list, sitting her second behind the United States’ Florence Griffith Joyner who still holds the record 10.49, which was set in 1988.  Another US athlete, Carmelita Jeter, has now dropped to third on the all-time list with her time of 10.65.

The race was only the athlete’s third 100m of the season, after opening with a fourth-place finish in Gateshead, followed by a win in Doha, where she ran the then third fastest time this season (10.84), in a pair of Diamond League events. 

Earlier this week, the athlete had claimed that prioritising fast times would be the aim this season, for what will be her final Olympic Games this summer.

Natasha Morrison, who recorded her personal best earlier this season (10.87), was second behind Fraser-Pryce with a time of 10.95, with Kashieka Cameron third with 11.39.

2018 Jamaica national 100m champion, Tyquendo Tracey, is hoping a return home will fuel a return to top form, with the Olympic Games fast approaching on the horizon.

After a spell abroad with the Florida-based Reider Sports Performance Group, under the tutelage of head coach Rana Reider, Tracey moved back home earlier this year.  The athlete is now with the SWEPT Track Club which is overseen by Okeile Stewart.

The former Garvey Maceo High student had spent 6 years at local track club MVP prior to that but left in 2018 after a financial dispute.

On Saturday, at the JAAA Destiny Series, the athlete suffered a bit of misfortune after false starting but later clocked 10.15 in the 100m.

“I’m just looking to do the best I can do.  Honestly, right now things have been a little tricky because I recently made a serious change, and right now, I could say it’s a bit of an experiment,” Tracey said.

“Training wise it's going great, things are going good, things are really looking up and I’m really looking forward to the national trials,” he added.

The athlete admitted that he had encountered issues during his time in Florida and was happy to be back home.

“I was having a lot of issues with the previous coach, long story but I had to come home.”

Olympic 400m bronze medallist, Shericka Jackson, has admitted that it has been difficult to recover from recent setbacks but insists these days she is in a better place and in better form with the Tokyo Games just a couple of months away.

The quarter-miler certainly looked in good form on Saturday, at the second week of the JAAA Destiny Series, as she clocked a new personal best of 11.02 in the 100m, just a whisker away from breaking the 11-second barrier.

Considering that the 100m sprint is not her preferred event and the last time she attempted the distance, which was at the JAAA Qualification Trials, in March, she ended with a cramp, Jackson was delighted with the result.  The athlete’s previous best of 11.13 was recorded in 2018.

“I think at some point I lost who I was, so I had to take a step back and now I’m back.  The day that I got a cramp I almost gave up, because coming off some shin fractures from 2019 and then I came back and got a cramp, so it messed up my mind a little,” Jackson said following Saturday’s event.

“I have good people in my corner, so I’m back here and I’m happy,” she added.

“The last time I ran a competitive 100m was 2018 so to be back here and get a personal best is really exciting for me.”

 Reigning Olympic 100m champion, Elaine Thompson-Herah, will miss this weekend’s Doha Diamond League meet, despite being originally listed as a part of the line-up.

According to an announcement made by organisers last week, Thompson-Herah was expected to clash with compatriot Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Sha’Carri Richardson, and Marie-Josee Ta over the 100m distance.

However, earlier this week, when the start list was announced the athlete’s name was nowhere to be seen.  It was a similar situation last weekend, where weeks before, many had expected the athlete to make her season debut at the Gateshead Diamond League meet against Richardson and Fraser-Pryce.

The early season, high stakes Gateshead clash was won by Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith, prior to the race Richardson had clocked the season’s fastest time with 10.72.  Thompson-Herah is the second-fastest woman in the world this year with her time of 10.78 seconds.

Fraser-Pryce, the Doha 2019 world champion, ran the 100m for the first time in Gateshead, where she finished fourth in 11.51.  Thompson-Herah, who has a best of 10.70, the same as Fraser-Pryce and Richardson (10.72) are three of the fast women in history over the distance having clocked the joint-fourth and sixth fastest times over the distance.

Bahamian Olympic Champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo has admitted to having minor injury setbacks over the last few weeks but insists her Olympic preparations remain on track.

At the weekend, Miller-Uibo looked in great shape as she cruised to victory at the Adidas Boost Boston Games, in the women’s 200m straight.  In the rarely contested event, the athlete led wire to wire before cruising to the line in 22.08, which was 0.32 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Kortnei Johnson.

The time was a personal best for Johnson, who was closely followed by compatriot Wadeline Jonathas in her personal best of 22.57.

Trinidad & Tobago’s Michelle-Lee Ahye was also in the mix with a season’s best 22.62 and fellow Miller compatriot Tynia Gaither next in 22.96.

“It was a bouncy track, and I love a bouncy track.  It was a pretty easy and comfortable run,” Miller-Uibo said following the event.

“The last few weeks, we’ve been dealing with a few minor injuries, but we’re getting through it and just taking everything one step at a time,” she added.

The athlete could contest either the 400m, which she won at the Rio Olympics or the 200m where she has the fastest time in the world this season.

Jamaica quarter-miler Stephenie-Ann Mcpherson has expressed delight at seeing fans returning to the seats after a year of empty stadiums brought about due to the presence of the coronavirus pandemic.

Lower case counts across the UK and Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s confirmation that the next stage of the government’s roadmap out of lockdown was on track last week meant that 2000 fans were allowed to attend the Wanda Diamond League opener in Gateshead.

In cold wet conditions, McPherson, the 4x400m relay Olympic silver medallist, had to settle for second behind the United States’ Kendal Ellis who crossed the line in 51.86.  Mcpherson, who finished second in 51.96, however, admitted that conditions were difficult but turned also her attention to other things.

“I came out here just to see where I'm at but it wasn't good conditions to run in. I am grateful to come out here and finish injury-free,” McPherson said.

“To see people back in the stands is exciting and it's always good to have people to cheer you on.”

It was another Jamaican, Shanieka Ricketts, who stole the show after winning the women’s triple jump with a leap of 14.40m.

Reigning Olympic 100m champion, Elaine Thompson-Herah, will not be a part of Sunday’s showdown with compatriot Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and the fastest woman in the world this season, Sha'Carri Richardson, at the Gateshead Diamond League.

The Jamaicans and the American seemed set for a blockbuster showdown over the distance, having recorded three of the six fastest times in history. 

However, Thompson-Herah is not listed on the start list for the meet and according to reports has pulled out of the event.  There has been no official reason provided for the sprinter’s withdrawal.

The field will, however, still boast plenty of quality, with Great Britain’s fastest woman, Dinah Asher-Smith, and another Jamaican, Natasha Morrison, also set to face the starter.  Morrison has clocked the third-fastest time over the distance this year, having run her personal best of 10.87, in Florida, last month.

According to reports, Thompson-Herah is also registered to face off against Richards at next week’s Doha Diamond League meet, where multiple world medallist Marie-Josée Ta Lou (Ivory Coast) and Nigeria’s national record holder Blessing Okagbare are also expected to be a part of the field.  Thomspon-Herah is the second-fastest woman this season having clocked a time of 10.78 in Florida last month.