We will not rush Blake – Seegobin

-Millions lost but athlete told to mend properly

(Jamaica Gleaner) Jamaican sprinting superstar Yohan Blake, may have lost several millions since injuring his hamstring in April, but his manager Cubie Seegobin underlined that the athlete will not be rushed back into competition. This after it was announced that the sprinter would miss the rest of the season.

Yohan Blake
Yohan Blake

Blake, reportedly the second-highest earner in global athletics behind Usain Bolt, has struggled with a stubborn hamstring injury, which he suffered on April 13 and has since pulled out of next month’s IAAF World Championships in Moscow, before calling time on his season.

The 100m world champion, who it is understood earns in the region of US$150,000 (J$15 million) in appearance fees alone, was previously forced to withdraw from meets in Edmonton, Shanghai and Doha, in addition to the Jamaica Invitational.

However, Seegobin, who would not confirm the figures, underlined that the only consideration was to the athlete’s health, pointing out also that Blake was beginning to deal better with having to shorten his season.

QUALITY FIRST
“Our thing is quality and it’s not that money isn’t needed, but we don’t need money to the point that we are going to exploit a situation,” Seegobin said.

“We just thank God that he is healthy and getting better and he is trying to get back to where he was.”

“He (Blake) would definitely like to go to the World Championships, anyone would. But the mere fact that he is finally getting healthy and he is about three weeks away from being 100 per cent; but he won’t be right for the World Championships, the decision was made and he is okay about it now,” Seegobin told The Gleaner.

On July 18, Blake tweeted “Unfortunately I will be unable to defend my title this year in Moscow because of an injury.”

“I am recovering well and I would like to say thanks to my fans and supporters. See you all next year on the track,” he added in a separate tweet.

Seegobin noted, “At this point, even if he was 100 per cent healthy, he is race rusty and will be in three weeks as well, so putting him on the track is not going to happen.”

“We are not going to put him in a couple of races after the World Championships either to get beaten or look bad because he is not sharp, he doesn’t need it,” Seegobin added.

Blake arrived last Tuesday at the Racers Track Club training base in London from Germany, where he was seeing specialist Dr Hans-Wilhelm Muler-Wohlfahrt and had a discussion with Seegobin and his coach Glen Mills, when it was decided that it was best that he heal properly before returning to the track.

“We have always been about quality and not quantity, Blake is not a regular athlete, he is a Ferrari and we are not going to put him on track unless he is going to give the 100 per cent that everyone is accustomed to,” Seegobin added.

Blake is the second-fastest athlete in both the 100m and 200m, with times of 9.69 and 19.26 respectively. In addition to his 100m world title from 2011, the 23-year-old also won silver medals in the 100m and 200m at last year’s Olympic Games.