Trinidad and Tobago track star Marc Burns sounded a stern Olympic warning yesterday, diving under ten seconds for the second time in his career to seize silver in the men's 100 metres dash, at the Aviva London Grand Prix, in England. In spite of a 0.5 metres per second headwind, Burns stopped the clock at 9.97 seconds, finishing strong to grab second spot, behind Jamaica's Asafa Powell (9.94). Another Jamaican, Michael Frater (10.00), copped third spot... Burns has been in fine form this season, and is rounding into his best form ahead of the August 8-24 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. Last month, the 25-year-old sprinter produced a 10.01 seconds run to strike gold at the Sagicor National Open Track and Field Championships. And twice last week, he was victorious in Europe. At the Vardinoyiannia meet, in Rethymno, Greece, Blazing Burns was the class of the "A" field, winning in 10.03 seconds. And then, at the Golden Gala Golden League meet in Rome, Italy, he won in 10.14. But none of those performances could match yesterday's impressive dash. Drawn way out in lane eight, fast-finishing Burns stormed to the line in a fast 9.97 seconds, just one-hundredth of a second outside his 9.96 personal best. If he can overcome the problems he has been having with his start, the two-time World Championship 100m finalist could be a serious contender for century honours at Beijing 2008. |
