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Blake targets Bolt's Olympic gold rush

Blake was crowned 100m world champion following Bolt's disqualification in Daegu © Getty Images

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Yohan Blake, the 100m world champion and the man Usain Bolt calls 'the beast', is eyeing the same four-medal haul targeted by the 100m and 200m world record-holder at the London 2012 Olympics.

Bolt has long stated his intention to target an unprecedented four track golds in London, adding a leg of the 4x400m relay to the defence of the 100m, 200m and 4x100m Olympic titles he claimed in Beijing in 2008.

Now Blake, seen as the greatest threat to Bolt in both the 100m and 200m, has also put his hat into the ring for the inclusion in Jamaica's four-lap team.

"My 4x400m training is going really well. I've been really encouraged by my performances," Blake told The Telegraph. "If the opportunity comes my way I would love to run in the 4x400m for Jamaica."

Only two athletes have claimed four track and field gold medals in a single Olympic Games. But while Americans Jesse Owens and Carl Lewis competed in the long jump as well as the sprints and sprint relay, Bolt and Blake are both bidding to become the first athlete to win four golds on the track.

Even if Blake was to pull off such a feat, he would not consider his legacy complete.

"A legend for me is not someone who wins four Olympic medals," added Blake. "A legend in my eyes is someone who can win a medal and then repeat it. I have now won the World Championship. I'm aiming to win it again. Win the Olympics, and then win it again. That is a legend."

Blake was the principal benefactor in the wake of Bolt's controversial disqualification in the 100m World Championships final in Daegu, but the youngest man to break the 10-second barrier - at 19 years, 197 days - believes he is in the frame for gold with or without the world record-holder alongside him.

"I don't think that Usain will false start again, but we are all human, so it just depends on what happens on the day," said Blake. "Anything is possible.

"I know what I can do and I just want a wonderful race and for the crowd to get what they paid for. Winning the World Championships meant a lot to me, even with Usain not in the field."

The 200m perhaps represents Blake's best chance of beating Bolt outright on the track. The 22-year-old ran the world's second-fastest time in Brussels in September, his 19.26s just 0.07s outside Bolt's world record.

But the focus remains on the 100m, the blue riband event at the Olympics, with Blake confident he is peaking right on cue for the Games.

"At the moment I'm really focusing on my 100m - you can't make any mistakes, as you can in the 200, where you can catch up on the bend," he said. "I'm working hard on technical aspects, on my start and on the first 30 metres. All of that is going to come in to play for the Olympics.

"Running with the quickest 100 metre sprinter in the world takes me to another level, though. I train hard by myself - that is why Usain calls me 'the beast' - and I'm doing twice as much work as anyone else. When everyone else is sleeping I am still working."

Rivals will become team-mates as the Jamaicans will certainly line up alongside one another in the 4x100m, a race that Blake believes could be one of the standout events of the Olympics.

"Most of the [Jamaican] guys are going to be in the 100m final and I think [the world record] is going to go. It is in the making."

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