JAPAN: London Olympic chairman Sebastian Coe says that Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt can run faster

Record ID: 466114

  • Title: JAPAN: London Olympic chairman Sebastian Coe says that Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt can run faster
  • Date: 1st March 2012
  • Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (FEBRUARY 28, 2012) (REUTERS) JAPANESE MIDDLE DISTANCE ATHLETES RUNNING VARIOUS OF ATHLETES RUNNING LONDON 2012 OLYMPICS CHAIR AND OLYMPIC CHAMPION SEBASTIAN COE WALKING OUT TO WATCH ATHLETES COE WATCHING ATHLETES VARIOUS OF ATHLETES RUNNING COE POSING WITH ATHLETES MORE OF COE POSING WITH ATHLETES TOKYO, JAPAN (FEBRUARY 29, 2012) (REUTERS) COE BEING INTERVIEWED (SOUNDBITE) (English) LONDON 2012 OLYMPICS CHAIR AND OLYMPIC CHAMPION SEBASTIAN COE SAYING: "Yes, I'm absolutely convinced that Usain can run faster. But I also think that this will be games over that distance that's very competitive at 100 and 200 as well." COE'S EYES (SOUNDBITE) (English) LONDON 2012 OLYMPICS CHAIR AND OLYMPIC CHAMPION SEBASTIAN COE SAYING: "Well I do seem to remember the scientists were telling people that if they tried to break the 4 minute mile they would probably die in the process and I do remember scientists telling me it was probably unlikely that anyone would run significantly under 1.43 for 800 so." COE BEING INTERVIEWED COE'S HANDS (SOUNDBITE) (English) LONDON 2012 OLYMPICS CHAIR AND OLYMPIC CHAMPION SEBASTIAN COE SAYING: "You know I hear people talking about rehabilitation and all that sort of stuff, but actually I think the damage is already sort of done to sport. The integrity of sport, the confidence for people going to sport, for competitors, it's really vital, that we control this. And I do not think that anyone at the highest level of sport that enters, that passes beyond that border of morality is doing so because they don't understand the implication. These are not arcane maritime law. You know that if you take something that enhances your performance, you are basically forfeiting your place in the sport." TOKYO, JAPAN (FEBRUARY 28, 2012) (REUTERS) (*** FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY ***) NEWS CONFERENCE WITH COE JOURNALIST TAKING NOTES COE STANDING WITH ATHLETES MORE OF COE STANDING WITH ATHLETES
  • Embargoed: 16th March 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan, Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVAA6JY1T7M2LTBDB325SVLK3SE9
  • Story Text: Usain Bolt, the world's fastest man, could possibly run 9.4 seconds over 100 metres at this year's London Olympics, Games organising committee chairman Sebastian Coe said on Wednesday (January 29).
    Asked about media reports that Bolt was planning an assault on his world record of 9.58 in London, Coe told Reuters that Bolt had the ability to tear up the laws of physics.
    "I do seem to remember scientists telling people if they tried to break the four-minute mile, they would probably die in the process," the twice Olympic 1,500 metres gold medallist said in an interview.
    " I remember scientists telling me it was probably unlikely that anybody would run significantly under 1:43 for 800 metres,"
    added Coe, whose world record of 1:41.73 stood for 16 years.
    ". I'm absolutely convinced that Usain can run faster, but this will be a Games that's very competitive at 100 and 200."
    Despite his zero-tolerance stance towards doping, Coe said it was dangerous to treat every superhuman performance as suspicious because of a disgraced minority of cheats.
    "Nobody comes from nowhere," he said. "Usain Bolt has been around a long time working very hard. "It's far too easy to simply say 'they've made rapid and dramatic progress and therefore they're on some kind of illegal supplement'. That's rarely the case.
    Coe said he would accept the ruling over banned British sprinter Dwain Chambers, expected in April, by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). CAS rule on an appeal by the British Olympic Association (BOA) against a decision by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) that its lifetime Olympic bans are illegal.
    The BOA currently bans from future Olympics any British athlete, such as Chambers and cyclist David Millar, found guilty of a doping offence. WADA rules specify a maximum two-year ban for a first offence.
    "I don't think two years is enough," said Coe. "It's cheating. People talk about rehabilitation, that kind of stuff, but I'm not convinced.
    "The damage is done to the integrity of sport, the confidence for people going to sport, for competitors, it's really vital that we control this.
    "I do not think anybody at the highest level of sport that passes beyond that border of morality is doing so because they don't understand the implications. If you take something that enhances your performance you are basically forfeiting your place in the sport."
    With Britain looking set to undershoot its Olympic budget, Coe defended the London Organising Committee over ticket prices as it tries to balance its two billion pound ($3.17 billion) operating budget.
    The world's fastest man Usain Bolt could possibly run 9.4 seconds at this year's London Olympics, Games chief Sebastian Coe said on Wednesday (February 29) during a visit to Tokyo.
    "Yes, I'm absolutely convinced that Usain can run faster. But I also think that this will be games over that distance that's very competitive at 100 and 200 as well," Coe told Reuters in an interview.
    Asked about media reports Bolt was planning to set an astonishing new mark in London, Coe told Reuters that Bolt had the ability to tear up the laws of physics.
    "I do seem to remember scientists telling people if they tried to break the four-minute mile, they would probably die in the process," Coe said in an interview in Tokyo.
    "I remember scientists telling me it was probably unlikely that anybody would run significantly under 1:43 for 800 metres," added Coe, Olympic champion in the 1,500 in 1980 and 1984.
    Coe met with Japanese athletes during his visit as he looked to promote the 2012 London which are now less than 150 days away. He said he would accept the ruling over banned British sprinter Dwain Chambers, expected in April, by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
    The BOA currently bans from future Olympics any British athlete, such as Chambers and cyclist David Millar, found guilty of a doping offence.
    WADA rules specify a maximum two-year ban for a first offence but Coe said that even two years would not be enough as the damage is already done.
    "You know I hear people talking about rehabilitation and all that sort of stuff, but actually I think the damage is already sort of done to sport. The integrity of sport, the confidence for people going to sport, for competitors, it's really vital, that we control this," Coe said.
    "And I do not think that anyone at the highest level of sport that enters, that passes beyond that border of morality is doing so because they don't understand the implication. These are not arcane maritime law. You know that if you take something that enhances your performance, you are basically forfeiting your place in the sport," he added.
    With Britain looking set to undershoot its Olympic budget, Coe also defended the London Organising Committee over ticket prices as it tries to balance its two billion pound ($3.17 billion) operating budget
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