Usain Bolt to race 200 meters in London before Rio
Your teams. Your favorite writers. Wherever you want them. Personalize SI with our new App. Install on iOS or Android.
Usain Bolt's final race before the Olympics will be a 200-meter dash at the London Anniversary Games, a Diamond League meet, on July 22, race organizers announced.
“The London Anniversary Games will be one of my last races before Rio and running in the 200 meters will hopefully set me up for a successful Olympic Games,” Bolt said in a statement. “Britain has some very good young sprinters and I’m looking forward to running against them and returning to the Olympic Stadium.”
Bolt has previously run the 100 meters in London, and won in 9.85 and 9.87 seconds at the 2013 and 2015 editions of the meet respectively.
The rest of the field includes European 200-meter champion Adam Gemili of Great Britain and Zharnel Hughes, who finished fifth in last year’s world championships.
Bolt has not lost a 200 meter race since the Jamaican National Championships in July 2012.
• Justin Gatlin opens up about Usain Bolt, Olympic goals and more
Most recently, Bolt showed that he is in solid shape with a 9.88-second victory in the 100 meters before his home crowd in Kingston, Jamaica.
The Summer Games open on August 5.
- Chris Chavez
