Bolt gives 'em taste of speed

http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/index.cfm?sid=260182&sc=99

	Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt of Jamaica looks back as he crosses the line to win the 100-metre event at the Festival of Excellence in Toronto on Thursday. In the background, centre, is Jared Connaughton of New Haven, P.E.I. (Canadian Press photo)

Bolt gives 'em taste of speed
P.E.I.'s Jared Connaughton finishes sixth in 100 metres at Festival of Excellence

LORI A. MAYNE
THE CANADIAN PRESS

TORONTO — Usain Bolt loped out of the blocks trailing the field under a miserable and steady downpour on Thursday night. But the way he hit his second gear and left the field in his wake made the fans at Varsity Stadium forget all about the rain.

The world’s fastest man put on a show at the inaugural Festival of Excellence, galloping to victory in the 100 metres in 10.00 seconds. The time was well off the Jamaican’s 9.69 world record that he ran at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but Bolt was simply using the event to gauge where he is at this point in his season, and he admitted to be cautious in the rainy conditions.

“That’s the right thing to do,” Bolt said afterward. “You’ve got to be very careful because they have a lot of running to do and you can’t manage to get injured at this time of the season.”

Shawn Crawford of the U.S. was second in 10.25, and Ivory Williams, also of the U.S., finished third in 10.28.

Jared Connaughton of New Haven, P.E.I., finished sixth in a 10:51, off his top Canadian mark of 10:15 from last year.

Organizers hope the Festival of Excellence breathes new life into track and field in Toronto, which hasn’t seen a world class track event since Donovan Bailey battled Michael Johnson in the 150 metres in 1997.

The meet featured 50 Olympians, but Bolt, who reportedly earned $250,000 for his appearance, was the headliner and clear fan favourite in front of a large Jamaican-Canadian crowd of 5,835 — a near-sellout in the revamped 6,500-seat venue.

“It felt good, I think I should have done a little better. For me it’s all right, I got through it injury free so that’s a good thing,” said Bolt, who jogged a victory lap with dozens of young children.

Jared Connaughton of Charlottetown was sixth in the 100 in 10.51 while Anson Henry of Pickering, Ont., was seventh in 10.57.

The race was delayed by two false starts which led to Bolt’s countryman Marvin Anderson being ejected from the eight-man field. The 22-year-old wasn’t thrilled to have to wait at the start in the rain.

“This is a part of the game,” said Bolt. “Some day you have a good day, some day you have a bad day. I guess I’ll put this down as a bad day for me.”

Minutes before Bolt stepped into the starting blocks, Canada’s female hurdlers gave the crowd a thrill. Priscilla Lopes-Schliep of Whitby, Ont., won the women’s 100-metre hurdles in 12.86, edging fellow Canadian Perdita Felicien of Pickering, Ont., who crossed second in 12.88. Damu Cherry of the U.S. was third in 13.01.

Felicien praised the crowd for supporting the event, and hopes it’s only the beginning for the sport in Toronto.

“(The crowd) was ridiculous, and the tickets were expensive, but it was well worth it,” Felicien said.

“There is a crowd and there is a market for it,” she added. “I love Usain and I’m thankful to him that he won all those medals last year so we can have an event like this. The big message is sustainability and getting an event out here every single year.”

Fans paid from $25 up to $250 for finish line seats.

One particular fan thought Bolt’s performance was worth the price of admission.

“I wanted to come here and see him do his thing, on Canadian soil,” said Bailey, Canada’s former 100-metre world-record holder and Olympic champion. “You have to understand that this is the very best specimen in track and field ever. He’s going to do things that none of us have seen. . . including me, who once held that title.

“As a fan I’m just here watching and cheering him on and hoping that he stays healthy so that we see some really good things in Berlin.”

*****

Order of finish in the 100 metres:

1. Usain Bolt, Jamaica, 10:00

2. Shawn Crawford, U.S., 10:25

3. Ivory Williams, U.S., 10:38

4. Bernard Williams, U.S., 10:47

5. Mario Forsythe, Jamaica, 10:48

6. Jared Connaughton, Canada, 10:51

7. Anson Henry, Canada, 10:57

Disq. - Marvin Anderson, false start.

Connaughton in his ready-to-run phase - Bolt-mania electrifies track world

http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/index.cfm?sid=259732&sc=99

Connaughton in his ready-to-run phase

CHARLES REID
The Guardian

Olympic sprint star Usain Bolt of Jamaica is the focus to today’s Festival of Excellence in Toronto, but Jared Connaughton of New Haven, P.E.I., understands it goes with the territory.

“It’s been pretty hectic, the media attention and hype around Bolt. I’m in the phase where I’m ready to run,” Connaughton, who will race against Bolt in the 100 metres, told The Guardian from Toronto on Wednesday. “This is by far the biggest festival in Canada (as far as media goes). It’s the big thing in town. We kind of caught up in all of this, but it's part of the package.”

Running, however, is Connaughton’s main focus.

An appearance in the 200-metre sprint semifinals at the Beijing Olympics last August bolted him to national prominence and Connaughton, who ran a Canadian-high 10.15 in the 100 last year, knows a good race tonight keeps that profile up.

So he’s adjusted his start routine to even out his total race and change his penchant for what his coach Monte Stratton calls “burning the fuse too fast” and consuming too much energy early in the race.

“I changed my approach to the drive phase. I backed off my intensity out of the blocks and I’m accelerating (more evenly leading to the middle and end of the race),” Connaughton said. “I’ve kind of combined the two.”

http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/index.cfm?sid=259730&sc=99

	Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt of Jamaica smiles after winning the 2009 Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award Wednesday in Toronto. (Canadian Press photo)

Bolt-mania electrifies track world
P.E.I.'s Jared Connaughton to race against
Olympic star tonight in festival

LORI EWING
THE CANADIAN PRESS

TORONTO — Usain-mania officially hit Toronto on Wednesday, complete with beefy bodyguards and stretch limousines.

Jamaican sprint star Usain Bolt arrived to a jam-packed news conference, the likes of which Olympic sport rarely enjoys in Canada, on the eve of the Festival of Excellence at the revamped Varsity Stadium.

And if all hopes are pinned on the affable 22-year-old to be a saviour of a sport that’s taken a beating for years, it appears to be working.

“A lot of people put me up there and I’m OK with that,” Bolt said on the lofty expectations people have placed on him. “I’m trying my heart out, I’m doing my best, I’m showing the people my personality, to come out and watch and just enjoy track and field again.”

Bolt raced to three gold medals and two world records at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and his post-victory lightning bolt pose and his victory dances are enduring images from China. His astonishing performances earned him the 2009 Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award, presented Wednesday.

The six-foot-five runner is the main headliner for the Festival of Excellence (TSN, 7:30 p.m. ET), an event that features a star-studded field of 50 Olympians, including Canadian hurdlers Priscilla Lopes-Schliep and Perdita Felicien, American sprinter Shawn Crawford, decathlete Bryan Clay, and pole vaulter Stacy Dragila, and Kenyan middle-distance runner Shedrack Korir.

Felicien said she doesn’t mind getting lost in the attention that’s being aimed at Bolt if it shines the spotlight on her sport.

“I don’t mind, this is great for Toronto,” Felicien told several dozen journalists assembled in a ballroom of a swanky Yorkville hotel. “It needs to be sustainable over the years, I don’t think Usain Bolt should be the only reason we have a major track fixture in Toronto, but thanks to him it’s opened some doors.

“But I didn’t know there this was this much media for track and field in Toronto,” she added, perhaps half-joking. “I’ve been to 10 national championships. . . you guys do exist!”

Toronto hasn’t hosted a world-class track event since the 150-metre showdown between Donovan Bailey and Michael Johnson in 1997 that turned into a bust when Johnson pulled up with an injury.

“We see the hype and crowds and the excitement in Europe, but we hadn’t seen that in North America in a long time,” said sprinter Jared Connaughton of Charlottetown. “For (Bolt) to bring back the sport to a global stage that competes with the NHL playoffs and the NBA finals, to have reporters here to cover a track and field event is pretty unique, especially in Canada.”

Bolt ran 9.69 seconds to win the Olympic 100, breaking his own world record. He followed that with a victory in the 200, running 19.30 to break Johnson’s 12-year-old world 200-metre mark. He capped the Games by running the third leg of Jamaica’s 4x100-metre relay that won gold.

The most astonishing thing about Bolt’s 100-metre race was he slowed down to celebrate a good 20 metres before hitting the finish line, prompting endless questions about how fast he can really go.

Bolt thinks 9.5 seconds is within reach.

“But I think it’s going to take a lot of work to get there,” Bolt told a throng of reporters squeezed around him six-deep. “But it’s going to take a lot of work to get there, I’m going to have to work hard always.

“I don’t go for times, for me it’s all about championships. I guess if I work hard and win championships, the time will come.”

Johnson, a five-time Olympic champion and nine-time world gold medallist, said the stars were aligned perfectly for Bolt in Beijing. So it remains to be seen how much faster he really can go.

“What we saw last year was certainly the most incredible athletic performance over a championship that I’ve ever witnessed,” Johnson said. “Now it will be interesting to see how he can follow that up.

“Obviously he has the ability to run faster, because had he run through the finish line there he would have run faster. (But) he will never have that opportunity again, there will never be a first Olympic Games for Usain Bolt again. . . another first opportunity to break a world record at an Olympic Games again.

“All those factors are certainly a part of his performance and why he was able to perform so great. That was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that he took great advantage of.”

Bolt has already broken the world record this season in the seldom-contested 150 metres, blowing away the field on a temporary track in Manchester, England.

The Festival of Excellence will be his first major 100 metres of the season, and he’s using the race to gauge his progress.

“Just go out there and see where I’m at, and stay injury-free,” Bolt said.

Connaughton and Anson Henry of Pickering, Ont., both Beijing Olympians, are the lone Canadians in the 100-metre field. Bolt’s main competition should come from Crawford, runner-up to the Jamaican in the Beijing 200 metres and the 2004 Olympic champion over that distance.

Crawford joked there’s only one way to beat Bolt.

“I’m going to go down to the (hotel) front desk and I’m going to tell them, `My name is Usain Bolt.’ Hopefully they’ll give me a key. I’m going to go up to his room and I’m going to tie him up and he’s going to miss the track meet,” Crawford said laughing.

As for the throng of reporters, the glare of the spotlight and the countless fans that have followed the Jamaican since that stunning two weeks in Beijing, Bolt said he’s come to expect it. Not that he’ll ever get used to it.

“I went down the street once to get some food maybe a month after Beijing, and I had to go back home. I couldn’t get the food,” Bolt said. “People kept stopping me, taking pictures, it was really rough.

“I decided next time to send one of my friends. . . It’s been hard, but it’s getting easier.”

Tickets for the Festival of Excellence at the 6,500-seat Varsity Centre range from $25 for “Lane 9” seats — street-side seating on the opposite backstretch — to $250 near the finish line.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/prince-edward-island/story/2009/06/11/pei-connaughton-bolt.html

Prince Edward Islander ready to race Bolt

New Haven, P.E.I.'s Jared Connaughton races against Usain Bolt at a meet in Toronto Thursday night.

Jared Connaughton hopes to get a quick start on the world record holder. (CBC)

And while the spotlight has been on the Jamaican Olympic gold medallist, Connaughton told CBC News he's ready to run at the Festival of Excellence. He set a personal best last weekend running the 100 metres in a time of 10.09 seconds during a meet in Texas. Bolt ran a 9.69 at the 2008 Olympics.

Connaughton said he hopes to take advantage of his quickness out of the blocks.

"Bolt, if he has any weaknesses, which is, they're few and far between, but I think any weakness is probably his start," said Connaughton.

"On any given day I think I would be considered one of the best starters in the world. So if I really get out, I stay in my race pattern, I think, I don't know if I'm going to hold him off but I definitely think I'm going to run a fast race here in Toronto."

The P.E.I. athlete is also looking forward to the Canadian championships in a couple of weeks.

The 100 metre race will be run just after 8 p.m. ET, and is being televised on TSN.

Also in the race will be Toronto's Anson Henry.

Other Canadian Olympians competing at the Festival of Excellence include hurdlers Perdita Felicien and Olympic bronze medallist Priscilla Lopes-Schliep, 400-metre runner Tyler Christopher, Nate Brannen in the mile and women's 800-metre wheelchair racer Tracey Ferguson.

Speed demons - Islander Jared Connaughton will be among sprinters going up against Olympic speed king Usain Bolt in Toronto

http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/index.cfm?sid=257527&sc=99

Speed demons Islander Jared Connaughton will be among sprinters going up against Olympic speed king Usain Bolt in Toronto CHARLES REID The Guardian

Jared Connaughton of New Haven, P.E.I.

Bullet proof and thick-skinned describes many an Olympic-quality sprinter. It's born from knowing there's always someone faster.

In this case, its the 100-metre men’s sprint at the inaugural Festival of Excellence exhibition track meet on Thursday, June 11, in Toronto.

It’s where Jared Connaughton of New Haven and six other sprinters will be staring down Usain Bolt, the 2008 Olympic 100-metres gold medallist and world record holder (9.69) who is considered in the world of track and field to be the fastest man alive.

But ask Connaughton, 23, what the race holds for him and he’s blunt with his answer, despite the eight-man field boasting half with sub-10 second times.

“I’m pretty confident. The last three or four weeks training has been a breakthrough,” said Connaughton from Arlington, Texas, where he lives and trains. “How that fares against Usain, I don’t know, but against the rest of the field it could be formidable.”

The men’s 100 metres headlines the festival, which also includes an 800-metre women’s wheelchair race, men’s and women’s 400-metre races, men’s 110-metre hurdles, a men’s and women’s mile and women’s 100-metre hurdles.

A strong 100-metre lineup includes: American Shawn Crawford, who won Olympic gold in 2004 in the 200 metres and a silver behind Bolt in the same event last summer at the Beijing Olympics; Anson Henry of Pickering, Ont., (Connaughton’s teammate on Canada’s 4x100-metre men’s relay team); Jamaicans Marvin Anderson and Mario Forsythe; Americans Bernard Williams and Ivory Williams.

The men’s 100-metres lifts off at 8:21 p.m.

TSN will be broadcasting the festival live.

Bolt is the lightning rod at the event.

His reported $250,000 appearance fee dwarfs Connaughton’s $1,000 guaranteed payday.

Prize money is available, but is doled out according to finish.

Bolt is coming off an injured left foot suffered after an April car crash last month in his Jamaican homeland but is now healthy and back running.

It’s a good thing, too, as he’s the only runner eliciting that kind of cash and the main draw.

Tickets for one of Varsity Stadium’s 7,000 seats range from $75 to $250.

Connaughton, a 200-metre semifinalist in Beijing, got the invite when his agent worked the organizers, who wanted more Canadians in the race, and secured him a spot.

And while he’s not treating it as a major championship, it’s his first first race in front of a large home country audience and he carries certain goals.

“I’d really like to go and run (between) 10.01 and 10.10. I ran a 10.26 in April and I feel at least two 10ths faster than that. Mathematically, that’s a 10.06,” said Connaughton, who ran the fastest 100-metre race in the country last year in 10.15. “The focus is always on myself, not Bolt. I’m putting my efforts solely on myself. He’s not focused on me.”

Connaughton leaves for Toronto on June 9.

After the race, he’s returning to P.E.I. on June 12 until the Canadian senior track and field championships, June 25-28, also in Toronto.

Connaughton then joins Henry, Hank Palmer and Brian Barnett on the Canadian men’s relay team at the world track and field championships in Berlin in August.