Bullish Bolt seeks first Stockholm win

STOCKHOLM,  (Reuters) – Jamaica’s Usain Bolt will be  doing his all to make it third time lucky when he races the 200  metres at the Diamond League meet in Stockholm today having  lost on his previous two outings in the Swedish capital.

Usain Bolt

A bullish Bolt spoke at a news conference in Stockholm yesterday and said he has high hopes for a first victory on  Swedish soil, as well as for the World Championships in Daegu,  South Korea in August but was not concerning himself with  records

“Everyone knows by now I’m all about the gold medals,” said  Bolt, who won the 100m, 200m and 4×100 at the 2008 Beijing  Olympics and the Berlin world championships the following year.  “For me I’m going there to defend my titles, and that’s the only  aim. I want to be a legend in this sport, and if I want to do  that I have to defend my titles successfully.”

Bolt feels that his training regime is paying off, having  concentrated on strengthening his back and leg muscles during  the season and doing less upper-body work, as well as analyzing  his running carefully.

“I need to work a little more on my start but technical-wise  I’m getting there,” he said.

Asked why he had never won in Stockholm, Bolt put it down to  panic brought on by bad starts.

When I get a bad start I tend to pop up early in my drive  phase, which for me is 30 to 35 metres. My shoulders come up and  it doesn’t help at all, because then you get no drive from your  hips”.

The Jamaican world record holder feels he is peaking at the  right time of the season, and that he will finally break his  Swedish duck a little after 2145 Friday local time.

“I’m feeling great, my technique over 200m is always the  best, so we can look forward to something good,” said Bolt,  whose previous Stockholm defeats by compatriot Asafa Powell and  American Tyson Gay came over 100m, where he also holds the world  record.

“I went to the stadium yesterday, the curve felt a little  bit tight, but I can handle it.    I’m looking for a good time.  As long as I execute and run correctly, a fast time should  come.”