Track & Field World Rejoices as Usain Bolt returns to the 100 meters in March

There was Michael Johnson’s 2000 Olympic 400 meter victory and Carl Lewis’s age defying win at the 1996 Atlanta Games in the long jump. It seems as though track & field could withstand the temporary absence of the sport’s most popular figure from the track.

But as the weeks added into months and the 09′ indoors seasoned went by with a yawn, the tank began to go dry and the engine began gasping. Now announcement has come that Usain Bolt is running his first open 100 meters on March 14 at the Lucozade Sport/G.C. Foster College Classics in Jamaica.

The news hit the internet on Monday afternoon that after opening the season with a 400 meter open, Bolt is returning to running the 100 meters. While the World 100 and 200 meter record holder and Olympic champion prompted plenty of water cooler talk by running an open 400 meter race, the fans have been waiting for Bolt to run the race he is known for dominating.

Buzz if not order has been returned to the international track and field scene.

According to the IAAF, “Bolt has confirmed to run the 100m, along with Yohan Blake,” said Lucozade Sport Chairperson Ventley Brown. Blake, Jamaica’s junior record holder with 10.11 seconds is a bronze medallist from the 2006 Beijing World Junior Championships.

Last year at this meet Bolt ran a personal best of 10.03 seconds as the beginning of his assaults on the record books.

Bolt will get after it for real after a stretch of not running since September 2008.

As I told a friend upon hearing the news, track and field is getting an injection of excitement. People want to know is he going to be different? And it’s going to renew interest. The sport needs Bolt. It’s a little stagnant right now.

A little track & field anyone? A number of the professional track & field athletes skipped the entire indoor season all together. Of the elite athletes that did run indoors a good number of them skipped the USA Indoor Nationals last week instead opting to ran at the Sydney Track Classic or better yet they headed home to train for the outdoor season.

It’s good for track and field. And in this economy, we need things good for this sport.

Related posts:

1. Who is the next Usain Bolt?
2. Bolt vs. Gay Begs More Questions
3. Top Elite Track Athlete of the Year: The Next Challenge
4. Tyson Gay slowly catching up
5. PreRaceJitters’ Track & Field Radio Show, Episode # 39