Bolt
Paul A. Reid, Staff Reporter
WESTERN BUREAU:
IF NEW world junior recordholder Usain Bolt does not break Donald Quarrie's 33-year-old 200m national record of 19.86 seconds at the International Invitational meet set for the National Stadium on May 7, fans should not be disappointed.
Fitz Coleman, coach of the 17-year-old who shattered the world junior 200m record with a blistering 19.93 clocking at the 33rd CARIFTA Games in Bermuda on Easter Sunday, said the focus for the runner now was to "build up gradually for the Olympics" this August.
"If it (records) come, it comes," said Coleman who trains Bolt and others including 400m runner Jermaine Gon-zales at the IAAF High Perfor-mance Centre at the Univer-sity of Technology.
Coleman said he does not want Bolt to be chasing records every time he runs as he could be chasing the wrong thing and could injure himself in the process.
Expectations are high that Bolt will be targeting Quarrie's record at the May 7 meet after his record run in Bermuda.
While saying he too was surprised by the news that Bolt had become the first junior athlete to dip under 20.00 seconds in the 200m, Coleman told The Gleaner that he was expecting something in the "low or high 20.00 seconds" and said Bolt might have gone out fast in the excitement of his first real run in the event this year and "exploded" at the start.
Prior to that race, Bolt had raced over the 200m just once at the CARIFTA trials held at G.C. Foster Col-lege on March 13 and had run 20.78 seconds to win easily. He had run mostly individual 400m or 4x400m re-lays legs at the few meets he has run this year.
Coleman said: "We all know he (Bolt) is extremely talented and while I won't discount the time, I am very happy for him."
Coleman said he had some 'targets' for Bolt to run by the time the Olympics come around but says he is "keeping those close to my chest for now".
He conceded, however, that Quarrie's record could go as "anything is possible" but stressed that Bolt was "not targeting records right now".
