It has been 11 years since Yohan Blake has been in shape like this, and it couldn’t come at a better time. For those who don’t know I am Jamaican so when it comes to IAAF events I’ll put my country first. On Friday night, Blake lined up in the 100-meter finals at the Jamaica National trials after speeding to 9.98 seconds in the semi-final round.

The final was to be contested between Yohan Blake, the 2nd fastest man of all-time, Oblique Seville, the fastest Jamaican over the distance this year (9.86 seconds), Ackeem Blake (9.92 seconds), and a returning Kemar Bailey-Cole, who has a personal best of 9.92 seconds set in London, 2015.

To win this race, Blake would have to run sub-9.90 seconds; something he hasn’t done in a decade. However, cometh the hour, cometh the man as Yohan sped to victory in 9.85 seconds, looking like he is in 2010 shape. Seville got up well and had the race in the bag for 60 meters before the experienced campaigner came through for victory, Seville second (9.88s) and Ackeem Blake 3rd (9.93s).

This outing is serving up for a hotly contested affair in Oregon after it was just minutes before Blake when American Fred Kerley became the fastest man in the world, finishing in 9.76 seconds.

With Kerley in the form he’s in, Blake coming back to his best with the emergence of Seville and other youngsters, not forgetting Olympic Champion Lamont Jacobs from Italy and if all goes in person as it does on paper this should be a mouth-watering affair.