Yohan Blake row casts cloud over Birmingham
AFTER being ‘bigged up’ by Jamaica’s all-conquering sprint stars during the Olympics Birmingham has now attracted some unwanted headlines as a result of a row between one of the gold medallists and the governing body behind UK athletics.
Yohan Blake is said to have snubbed the invitation to compete in Sunday’s Aviva Grand Prix in Birmingham because he said the appearance money being offered by UK Athletics was ‘insulting’.
It is thought he was offered £25,000 – around half that usually given to his compatriot Usain Bolt – to take part in the event but his agent refused the offer saying it did not come close to his client’s true valuation.
As if to underline his status, 22 year-old Blake opted to run in an event in Switzerland and last night became only the third man in history to run the 100 metres in under 9.70 seconds. His time of 9.69 seconds in the Diamond League meeting in Lausanne has only ever been beaten by Bolt.
The row will disappoint Marketing Birmingham, which was basking in the warm praise lavished on Birmingham – and Birmingham University in particular – by Bolt and Blake when the Jamaican team based themselves in the city during the London games.
Not that the organisers of Sunday’s event will be too disappointed as the event is a sell-out; the ticket sales boosted by the presence of double gold medal-winning track star Mo Farah in his first outing after the Olympics.
