Is Usain Bolt Ready to Defend Titles in London?

The world 100m and 200m record-holder Usain Bolt says he is ready to defend his Olympic sprint-double titles. In his press conferences leading up to his big day tomorrow, Bolt has been saying the right things and has stressed that he is indeed ready. Four years ago, the 6’5” Jamaican used the Beijing Olympic as his coming-out party by winning the sprint double in record-breaking fashion. Bolt should be the clear favorite to defend his titles in London starting with the 100m heats on Saturday morning (August 4^th). Bolt, when healthy is undeniable the best sprinter in the world and he has shown his quality by decimated his competitors at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Things change But things have changed over the past four years. Bolt, who lowered both the 100m and 200m to 9.58 and 19.19 seconds respectively, has been going through an injury spell, which saw him losing his first 200m race over the past 4 years at the 2012 Jamaican Trials to training partner, Yohan “the Beast” Blake. Despite his loss to Blake in both the 100m and the 200m, Bolt should not be taken lightly. He has the talent, the ability as well as the experience to repel the challenges of all of his competitors including Blake. Setbacks Bolt has run 9.58 seconds in the 100m at the 2009 Berlin world championship and it can be argued that his body is accustomed to be challenged to go very fast. With a good start, it is highly unlikely that Bolt will be beaten. Bolt has the power and speed to correct any disadvantage encountered at the start. It is also hard to fathom that Bolt, who had false-started in the 100m at the 2011 Daegu world championship would not have taken the necessary  steps  in training,  to avoid a  repeat of that embarrassing episode. Legendary status Bolt will be ready to defend his sprint-double title. He has too much at stake not to be ready. A successful defense of his sprint-double titles will propel Bolt to legendary status as he would become the first man in Olympic history to successfully defend his 100m title. At stake also are the financial benefits, in term of more sponsors and endorsements as well as giving his island nation Jamaica, a special performance on the eve of its 50^th year of independence. Bolt has already proven that he can rise to the occasion when need. So yes, Bolt will be ready.