‘Champion’ Ato vows to excel in 200m

Four-time Olympic medallist Ato Boldon is calling it quits for the 100 metres and concentrating  on the 200 after a disappointing show at the World Championships in France.

“It is time to go to the 200,” the Trinidadian sprinter  said after finishing sixth in his semifinal Monday with a disappointing time of 10.22 at the championships in Saint-Denis. “I am extremely disappointed at the outcome of this race,” Boldon, 30, said on Caribbean Sports Television Network. “I am not used to being in this position — sitting on the sidelines watching others prepare for a final. But champions always move on.” It was especially hard following on months of work to recover from a car crash in Trinidad last year in which Boldon had bruised his hip: “All of the hard work, rehabilitation and training gone to nothing.” Though dejected, he still held hope for the future. “I will be back. I most likely ran my last 100 metres at this level, but there is still the relays to run here. But I will most likely focus on the 200 at next year’s Olympics,” he said in the TV interview.

Boldon won double bronze medals at the 1996 Olympics in  Atlanta and then bronze and silver at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. He said he was excited by the success of his fellow Caribbean competitors in Monday’s race. Kim Collins of St Kitts and Nevis won the 100 metres in 10:07 followed a minute later by Trinidad’s Darrel Brown. Brown, 18, seemed reluctant to acknowledge his success. “My goal was to make it to the finals and I did that,” he said. “I am more relieved and glad that it’s over so I can get some rest and  prepare for the sprint relays coming up.”