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Powell suffered an injury during the final of the 100 meter race at the London 2012 Olympics, which effectively dropped him from the relay line up.
Jamaican sprint legend Yohan Blake has made an eye-opening revelation about the potential of the record-breaking 4x100m relay team that set a staggering world record of 36.84 seconds at the 2012 London Olympics.
Blake, the second-fastest man in history over 100 meters (9.69 seconds) and 200 meters (19.26 seconds), shared that Jamaica's all-star lineup could have achieved an even more unbelievable time if Asafa Powell had been available to compete.
Blake’s career is studded with remarkable accolades, including two Olympic gold medals in the 4x100m relay (London 2012 and Rio 2016), and silver medals in the 100m and 200m at the London Games.
Known for his explosive third-leg runs in relay races, Blake passed the baton to Usain Bolt for the anchor leg that sealed the record-setting triumph in 2012.
However, Blake contends that Jamaica's sprint team never reached its full potential due to timing and injuries.
The nation's top sprinters at the time—Blake, Bolt, Powell, and Nesta Carter—were never all part of the same relay team at a major championship.
While Bolt, Carter, and Powell were instrumental in Jamaica's early successes, Blake was still emerging in 2008 and was not part of the squad that took gold in Beijing.
By 2012, Powell was sidelined due to an injury, and in 2016, Carter missed the Games. The 2008 gold medal was later rescinded after Carter tested positive for the banned stimulant methylhexanamine, following a reanalysis of stored samples by the International Olympic Committee.
In a recent interview with SportsMax TV, Blake expressed his belief that with Powell in the lineup and proper team training, the Jamaican quartet could have clocked an unprecedented time of 36.2 seconds.
“36.2. London was probably the best track to do so because that track is very fast and with proper practice—because we don’t practice but just come together—like the Japanese, the British in their camp,” Blake explained.
He emphasized the impact that a structured training regimen and better team chemistry could have had on their performance.
“If we put that together and jelled and created that chemistry, all hell would have broken loose,” he said, reflecting on the untapped potential of what could have been the fastest relay team in history.
The claim underscores the raw talent and speed that defined Jamaica's golden era of sprinting. Although the 2012 squad's 36.84 seconds remains an iconic moment in track and field history, Blake’s insights suggest that fans were only shown a glimpse of what the team could truly achieve.
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