By Audley Boyd, Assistant Sport EditorGLEN MILLS, the new coach of Usain Bolt, says the teenage sprint phenomenon is ready to tune up for the fast lane again.
"He's going to resume training at the beginning of October for the 2005 season," Mills told The Gleaner in a recent interview.
"He's fully recovered from his injuries so he's ready to start training."
Mills, the national senior team's track and field head coach for the past 17 years, said the athlete's move to his stables will assist his development as he'll be joining pro company.
"One of the things that I feel that will be a positive is that this season he'll be training with other professional athletes, including Aleen Bailey and Kim Collins," Mills pointed out, adding "... and Aleen is a good motivator."
REDUCING ACCESS TO THE PRESS
Another move the coach believes will work as a positive for Bolt is reducing the 18-year-old athlete's access to the press.
"While I can understand that Jamaica is interested in his well-being and development, he's constantly in the press and I think he needs less press attention. I've noticed over the last two years that every detail of his life is news and this puts pressure on him. While I've no intention to hide him from the media, I'll definitely be making an effort to reduce press attention. He needs a break to settle down and train in a serious way so that he can maintain his press worthiness."
After looking at horseracing on a television set above our head during the interview on the cool roof setting run by former national footballer Marvin Fisher Fisher's Place on Lyndhurst Road where many journalists and sports enthusiasts socialise an analogy was made with Bolt and promising three-year-old champion horses 'shielded' from 'A' Class company and the question asked: Do you consider Bolt not competing at the World Championships an opportunity squandered?
MISSED OPPORTUNITY
The reference was to last year's World Championships when, Bolt, in prime form, was taken to the senior World Championships as a member of Jamaica's team but not allowed to run.
Mills said: "In track and field it is always best to exploit the present. When you're on top of your game you must make the best use of it because the next season is not guaranteed to be as successful.
"It therefore could be said that 2003 could be viewed as an opportunity missed."
This season, Bolt established the World Junior record of 19.93 seconds at the Carifta Games in April.
Later on though, he was plagued by a number of injuries and was pulled from a number of meets at the 11th hour before making a hugely disappointing first round exit in the half-lap event at the Athens Olympics in late August. This run led to a number of aspersions being cast on his former coach, Fitz Coleman, and the subsequent coaching switch.
In spite of these arguments though, Mills makes a salient point.
FOCUSING ON THE 200M
"This season, although most of it was lost due to injury, we must not lose sight of the fact that he improved this year over last year in running 19.93."
Besides the 200m, Bolt has also proven himself to be a pretty decent quarter-miler and asked about the events to which his training will now be geared, Mills said:
"Right now we'll be focusing on the 200m but I can see where in the future the 400m could become his most dominant event. He's 6ft. 6ins. and growing. Two years ago he ran 45.25 at Boys' Champs."
Asked if Jamaicans can look forward to Bolt competing on the Grand Prix circuit next season, Mills was affirmative.
"Yes, because that's where we want to blood him, to get him exposed to senior competition. He's still a junior but he'll be taking no further part in junior competition, no CARIFTA, no CAC (Juniors).
"We think he has proven himself at CARIFTA where he established the World Junior Record. It is time to move on and concentrate on what's going to occupy the rest of his athletic career. He definitely has to focus on senior athletic competition."
