36 Facts About Yohan Blake

Yohan Blake was born on 26 December 1989 and is a Jamaican sprinter specialising in the 100-metre and 200-metre sprint races.

Yohan Blake won gold at the 100 m at the 2011 World Athletics Championships as the youngest 100 m world champion ever, and a silver medal in the 2012 Olympic Games in London in the 100 m and 200 m races for the Jamaican team behind Usain Bolt.

Yohan Blake holds the Jamaican national junior record for the 100 metres, and was the youngest sprinter to have broken the 10-second barrier at 19 years, 196 days old before Trayvon Bromell ran 100 m in 9.97 seconds at 18 years 11 months and 3 days old.

Yohan Blake attended Green Park Primary and Junior High School in the Parish of Clarendon.

Yohan Blake was discovered as a young talent from Davis Primary School by coach Carlton Solan.

Yohan Blake attended St Jago High School in Spanish Town where his first sporting love was cricket.

Yohan Blake was a fast bowler, and it was only after the school Principal saw how quickly he ran to the wicket that he was urged to try sprinting.

Yohan Blake won the 100 metre "B" race at the 2009 Reebok Grand Prix.

At the 2011 World Championships, Yohan Blake comfortably made the final.

Yohan Blake began his 2012 season strongly, registering the first sub-10-second time of the season at April's UTech Classic.

Yohan Blake went on to register a 9.84 second run at the Cayman Invitational prior to the Jamaican Olympic trials, where he beat Usain Bolt over 100 metres with a time of 9.75 seconds.

Yohan Blake came in as a serious threat to Bolt's 100 m title.

Yohan Blake followed Bolt home in the final of the 200 metres where he won the silver medal in a time of 19.44 seconds, the fastest non-winning time in history.

On 23 August 2012, at the Athletissima Diamond League meet in Lausanne, Switzerland, Yohan Blake ran the 100 metres in 9.69 seconds, tying him with Tyson Gay as the second fastest man in history, behind Bolt.

Yohan Blake tried competing again in 2014, but placed 6th at the 200 m Lausanne Diamond League event, with a time of 20.48 seconds.

Yohan Blake then suffered another hamstring injury and fell at the 40 metre mark during the Glasgow Diamond League 100 m race shortly after that, ending his season.

Yohan Blake decided he was ready to race again in 2015 after recovering from injuries in 2013 and 2014.

Yohan Blake failed to advance from the Jamaica Outdoor national championship semi-final in the 100 metres, placing ninth with a time of 10.36 seconds, with the top 8 advancing to the finals.

Yohan Blake did not participate in the 200 m trials after that.

Yohan Blake then went on to defend both his 100 m and 200 m national titles in 9.92 seconds and 20.29 seconds respectively, in the absence of an injured Usain Bolt.

At the 2016 Summer Olympics, Yohan Blake progressed into the 100 m final, where he finished fourth in a season's best 9.93 seconds.

At the 2017 World Championships in Athletics in London, Yohan Blake finished in fourth place yet again in the 100 m final.

Yohan Blake was one of the only four men who went under ten seconds during the race, the others being Bolt, silver medalist Christian Coleman, and gold medalist Justin Gatlin.

Just as he did in Rio the previous year, Yohan Blake failed to progress into the 200 m final, though he was ranked closer this time with 11th overall and a slower 20.52 s to come third in his heat.

Yohan Blake helped the injured Bolt, who refused a wheelchair, to his feet.

Yohan Blake started his 2018 season early, in preparation for the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Yohan Blake opted out of the 200 m Later on in the season, Blake continued to progress in the 100 m with two sub-tens.

Yohan Blake switched to Patrick Dawson, and would continue to workout at the Racers Track Club site.

On 13 March 2021, Yohan Blake ran 100 m in 10.29 seconds there.

Yohan Blake failed to advance to the final of the 100 m, placing sixth in his semifinal heat with a time of 10.14.

Away from athletics, Yohan Blake continues to be a keen cricketer, having once held ambitions to play for the West Indies.

On 16 August 2012, Yohan Blake rang the bell at Lord's Cricket Ground, London to signify the start of the third Investec test match between England and South Africa.

Yohan Blake was the first non-professional cricketer to do this.

Yohan Blake is a fan of the IPL team Royal Challengers Bangalore and has expressed his desire to play for them and for Yorkshire County Cricket Club.

Yohan Blake has expressed his admiration of Virat Kohli's captaincy of the Indian cricket team.

In March 2021, Yohan Blake said that he would rather miss the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympics than take the COVID-19 vaccine.