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• “I went to the hills and cried for two weeks after that”- Blake reflects on dark days after devastating hamstring injury in 2014

  Most track and field athletes would have quit the sport years ago if they had gone through the injury struggles endured by Yohan Blake.

  The youngest World 100m champion in history had the prime of his career significantly affected by a number of injuries, none more devastating than a torn hamstring he sustained at the Glasgow Grand Prix in 2014.

  Blake felt a sharp pain during the 100m race that was initially diagnosed as a cramp but, upon further evaluation, was determined to be a hamstring tear so bad that his muscle actually came off the bone.

  Blake had to have surgery where they re-attached the muscle to the bone using aluminum, causing him to miss the rest of the 2014 season.

  During the most recent episode of Out D Blocks on the Sportsmax.tv YouTube Channel, the 2012 double Olympic silver medallist reflected on his immediate reaction to the injury.

  “When that happened to me, I went into the hills for two weeks. No one knew where I was and I cried,” Blake said, noting that he naturally had doubts about every returning to his old form.

  So how did he get out of this funk and decide to move forward? Self-affirmation is how.

  “I finally talked to God and said listen, you are the second fastest man on the planet. What are you doing?”

  “I talked to Brigitte (Foster-Hylton) because she had the same injury and came back and won the World Championships. I talked to my manager and my team and came back and started to do little training and felt more confident,” Blake added.

  Fast forward 10 years later, Blake, now 34, just had a season to forget on the track by his standards.

  He had a 100m season’s best of 10.16 done in May and failed to make Jamaica’s team to the 2024 Paris Olympics.

  Nagging injuries was the main contributor to his lack of success last season according to Blake, with even the injury suffered back in 2014 still affecting him to this day.

  “I still struggle with a lot of injuries,” he said.

  “Last year, I tried to change up my routine being more specific in my lifting and my running and I got some aches and pains, even from my previous injury when my muscle came off my bone and they had to re-attach it with aluminum so it’s a bit rigid. It bothers me a lot,” he added.

  In a lot of situations with athletes who suffer major injuries, they are able to put out full effort in training but once they get into the competition, a metal block affects their performance due to a fear of getting hurt again.

  Blake says this has also affected him since the injuries.

  “It has. Training with Glen Mills, before I left, he said to me ‘Yohan, if you’re going out there with that mindset, it’s better you stop,’” he said.

  “From that, I changed my routine. You’re still going to pick up niggles along the way and the wear and tear of the body. Usain said ‘Yohan, when you reach a certain age you’re going to feel this.’ A lot of times when I was training with Usain, he started to feel some pain and everything and he’d tell me I’d feel some of these pains and I shrugged it off because I was young and I finally understand what he meant,” he added.

  As previously stated, athletes who have suffered the injuries he’s suffered usually don’t last as long in the sport as he has.

  With all the injuries, Blake still holds the title of second fastest man to ever walk this earth.

  “Thank God for what I have achieved because not many persons in the world can say they have achieved what I have achieved,” he said.

  “There comes a point in time when you understand, even though you have people saying quit or stop, those are the things that drive me. You can’t tell me to quit. They can’t tell me to quit. They can say anything but they can’t make me quit. I have to make me quit,” he added.

   

• Olympic champion Julien Alfred wraps up UK tour with visits to Ladbroke Grove schools

  Olympic 100m champion Julien Alfred concluded her tour of the United Kingdom on Thursday with visits to two schools in Ladbroke Grove, London, where she inspired students from the vibrant Saint Lucian community in the area. This wraps up a whirlwind week for Alfred, who has been actively promoting St. Lucia in her new role as the island’s Tourism Ambassador.

  Alfred’s day began at St. Mary’s Primary School, where students, aged 5 to 11, welcomed her with a special assembly and a hymn, creating a warm, uplifting start to the visit. Alfred gave an inspiring talk to the young audience, sharing her journey from her small Caribbean island to the Olympic podium, and then answered questions from eager students about her achievements and what it’s like to be an Olympian.

  

  The visit continued at All Saints Catholic College, a secondary school for students aged 11 to 17, where Alfred joined a Physical Education lesson, offering insights into the training and challenges that helped shape her career. Following a tour of the school, she participated in an assembly featuring the school’s steel pan band, answering students' questions on her historic gold-medal victory at the 2024 Paris Olympics and her excitement about her new ambassadorial role.

  Alfred was joined by acclaimed British Saint Lucian author Laura Henry-Allain, the Mayor of the Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and His Excellency the High Commissioner for Saint Lucia, adding to the event's significance for the local community.

  

  Reflecting on her week-long UK tour, Alfred shared, “It’s been quite the week. On Saturday I met with other ambassadors from Asia and Africa with His Excellency the High Commissioner. On Sunday I met my people, St Lucians in the UK, on Monday I spoke to media about my new role and then it was World Travel Market. To see all the countries around the world being represented was quite something. It’s been an honour to use my platform to help promote my island.”

  

  Alfred’s ambassadorship follows her incredible success at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she became the 100m champion, making history for St. Lucia. Now, with her UK commitments complete, Alfred will return her focus to preparing for the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan, where she will aim to continue her stellar track record.

  Alfred’s UK tour has not only strengthened ties with the St Lucian community in the UK but also highlighted the island on a global stage, underscoring her dedication to her role as an ambassador both on and off the track.

• Julien Alfred reveals she almost withdrew from Olympics due to pressure

  Olympic champion Julien Alfred, who rose to global fame this summer by winning gold in the 100 metres at the Paris Olympic Games, has revealed in an interview with Sky Sports that she nearly withdrew from the Games due to the intense pressure she felt after a standout performance earlier in the year. The 23-year-old, who clocked an impressive 10.72 seconds to claim her title as the world's fastest woman, shared her journey through the mental and physical challenges she faced leading up to her historic win.

  Reflecting on her victory at the Stade de France, Alfred said, “I remember screaming so loud and bursting into tears just knowing all my hard work and sacrifice has paid off and knowing how hard it was to get to that point in my career. All I could do was just cry.”

  However, after winning gold in the 60m at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow earlier this year, Alfred admitted she felt overwhelming pressure to continue delivering exceptional performances. “I put so much pressure on myself after the World Indoors that I have to deliver every single time,” she said. “My coach took me off the track, took me out of competition so I can just focus on my mental health and my physical health as well.”

   The expectation to perform at her peak weighed heavily on Alfred, especially as she took on the role of a trailblazer for St. Lucia. “That was such a hard time for me where I felt like there’s no way I’m going to continue, there’s no way I feel like I have the mental capacity to go to the line again and to represent my country,” she admitted. “Suddenly I got more attention, especially after winning the World Indoors, that I was not used to. I'm just so used to doing well and going back to my shell where I just work on the little things and then go back on the line whenever I have to again.”

  Despite the struggle, Alfred overcame the pressure, becoming not only St. Lucia’s first Olympic gold medalist but also securing silver in the 200m three days later, marking her country’s first two Olympic medals. Known affectionately as “Ju Ju” back home, Alfred returned to the track determined to make her nation proud, sharing the podium with American stars Sha’carri Richardson and Melissa Jefferson.

  During her time in the UK as St. Lucia's Tourism Ambassador, Alfred has embraced her role as a national icon. She represented her country at the World Tourism Market and visited schools to inspire young students, encouraging the next generation to pursue their dreams.