Yohan Blake
Jamaican sprinter Yohan Blake holds the world record for the 4-by-100-meter relay. In 2012, he won a silver medal in both the 100-meter and 200-meter races, losing to rival and fellow Jamaican Usain Bolt in both events.
Synopsis
Famed sprinter Yohan Blake, nicknamed "The Beast" by fans, was born on December 26, 1989 in St. James, Jamaica. Blake began running competitively in the 100 and 200 meters at a young age. In 2009, he tested positive for methylaxanthine at the Jamaican Championships, and was banned for three months. He has since won various honors, including two gold medals at the 2011 World Championships, in the 100 and the 4-by-100-meter relay. Blake holds the record in the 4-by-100-meter relay and the national junior record in the 100. His best time in the 100 is 9.75 seconds. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he won a silver medal in the 100 meters with a time of 9.75 seconds, just shy of his rival Usain Bolt's 9.63 seconds. Similarly, in the 200-meter race, Blake finished second to Bolt, taking the silver.
Track Star
Famed sprinter Yohan Blake, nicknamed by fans as "The Beast," was born on December 26, 1989 in St. James, Jamaica. He attended St. Jago High School. Blake began running competitively in the 100 and 200 meters at a young age, and at the 2007 Caribbean Free Trade Association Games, set a national junior record in the 100, with a time of 10.11 seconds. He went on to successfully compete at various other track-and-field events, including the Reebox Grand Prix (now the Adidas Grand Prix), where he finished first in the 100 and third in the 200—behind Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell, respectively—in 2009.
Later in 2009, Blake tested positive for methylaxanthine at the Jamaican National Championships, and was subsequently banned from track and field for three months. He has since received various honors in the 100 and 200: He won both races at his country's Jamaica National Junior Championships in 2006, and finished second in the 100 at the 2007 Pan American Junior Championships. He went on to win gold in the 4-by-100-meter relay at the 2008 World Junior Championships, and then captured two gold medals at the 2011 World Championships, in the 100 meters (9.92 seconds) and the 4-by-100-meter relay—Blake and his teammates (including Usain Bolt) finished the 4-by-100 in 37.04 seconds in 2011, breaking the world record for that event, which had been previously set by the Jamaican Olympic team in 2008.
Blake currently holds his nation's junior record in the 100 meters, and is the youngest person to break the 10-second barrier (2009). His best time in the 100 is 9.75 seconds.
Olympic Medalist
At the Jamaican Olympic trials, in June 2012, Blake beat rival and fellow Jamaican Usain Bolt in both the 100 and 200 meters. However, in the 100-meter final at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, Blake finished second, winning silver medal, with a time of 9.75 seconds. Usain Bolt won gold with 9.63 seconds, a new Olympic record.
Blake went on to compete in the 200-meter race, and, similar to his 100, finished second to Bolt and won the silver medal.
Other Projects
Blake founded the YB Afraid Foundation in 2011, an organization that works to address the needs of underserved youth.
