Jerome Blake

{{Infobox sportsperson

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1995|08|18|mf=yes}}

| hometown = Kelowna, British Columbia{{cite web|url=https://olympic.ca/team-canada/Jerome-Blake/|title=Jerome Blake|website=www.olympic.ca/|publisher=Canadian Olympic Committee|access-date=3 July 2021}}

| image = Jerome Blake 2022.jpg

| caption = Jerome Blake 2022 World Athletics Championships Day 4 - 200 m men Heat

| height = 6'3

| weight = 86 kg

| pb = 100 m: 10.00 (2022)
200: 20.04 (2022)

| medaltemplates =

{{MedalCountry|{{CAN}}}}

}}

Jerome Blake (born August 18, 1995) is a Canadian track and field athlete specializing in the sprint events. As a member of the Canadian 4 × 100 metres relay team, he is the 2024 Olympic gold medallist, 2020 Olympic silver medallist and the 2022 World champion.

Career

=Early career=

Blake was born in Buff Bay, Jamaica, where he started his young track career as a hurdler in the 400 m. After attending his brother's soccer game, he began testing his speed on track which a coach noticed and convinced him to switch to sprinting. The Blake family moved to Canada in 2013, taking up residence in Kelowna, British Columbia initially, and eventually moving to Burnaby.{{cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com/sports/2022/06/22/could-jerome-blake-be-the-next-great-canadian-sprinter.html|title=Could Jerome Blake be the next great Canadian sprinter?|last=Gillespie|first=Kerry|newspaper=Toronto Star|date=June 22, 2022|access-date=July 24, 2022}} Because he did not acquire Canadian citizenship until 2018, he was unable to participate in many international junior competitions, though he remarked that had he been born in Canada "I probably would have been playing hockey." Blake competed for British Columbia at the 2017 Canada Summer Games where he won gold in both the 100 m and 200 m.

Debuting at the senior level, Blake soon became a regular member of Canada's relay teams, winning a gold medal at the 2018 NACAC Championships. Blake competed at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, finishing sixth in the 200 m and fourth in the 4 × 100 relay.

=2020 Summer Olympics=

In the buildup to the 2020 Summer Olympics, which was taking place in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Blake competed at the Canadian National Trials. There he placed in second place, and as a result, Blake was named to Canada's Olympic team.{{cite web|url=https://olympic.ca/2021/07/03/team-canada-to-have-57-competitors-in-athletics-at-tokyo-2020/|title=Team Canada to have 57 competitors in athletics at Tokyo 2020|last=Nichols|first=Paula|date=3 July 2021|website=www.olympic.ca/|publisher=Canadian Olympic Committee|accessdate=3 July 2021}}{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summer/trackandfield/canadian-olympic-athletics-team-july-3-1.6089148|title=57 athletes nominated to Canada's Olympic track & field team|date=3 July 2021|website=www.cbc.ca/|publisher=CBC Sports|access-date=3 July 2021}} He then set a new personal best just before the games, running 10.15 seconds in Stockholm in early July. As a part of the {{nowrap|4 × 100 m}} relay team, he won a bronze medal in the Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Men's 4 × 100 metres relay.{{cite news|title=Andre De Grasse powers Canada to Olympic bronze in men's 4x100m relay |url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summer/trackandfield/olympics-track-4x100-relay-mens-final-canada-de-grasse-brown-rodney-blake-1.6130849|first=Jamie|last=Strashin|work=CBC Sports|date=August 6, 2021|access-date=August 6, 2021}} On 18 February 2022, Great Britain was stripped of its silver medal in the men's {{nowrap|4 × 100 m}} relay after the Court of Arbitration for Sport confirmed CJ Ujah's doping violation. Canada was upgraded to silver.{{Cite web|date=2022-02-18|title=Britain's relay team loses Olympic silver over Ujah doping|url=https://apnews.com/article/summer-olympics-doping-uk-relay-team-e06837313d169a59c57c6e4db87cef00|access-date=2022-02-19|website=AP NEWS|language=en}}{{cite news |title=Canadian men's 4x100m Olympic team bumped up to silver as Brits DQ'ed for doping |url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summer/trackandfield/tokyo-olympics-track-field-canada-upgrade-silver-1.6419784 |access-date=14 April 2022 |publisher=CBC Sports |date=14 April 2022}}

=Individual success, World and Olympic relay gold=

Following the Olympic season, Blake enjoyed a breakout year in terms of individual results, beginning with an upset victory in the 100 m at the USATF Bermuda Games that saw him finish ahead of American stars Noah Lyles and Erriyon Knighton.{{cite news |title=Jerome Blake stuns Erriyon Knighton and Noah Lyles in the 100m at the USATF Bermuda Games |url=https://olympics.com/en/news/usatf-bermuda-games-results |access-date=July 24, 2022 |website=International Olympic Committee |date=April 10, 2022}} On the 2022 Diamond League circuit, he won a bronze medal at the British Grand Prix in Birmingham. The Canadian relay team won gold in the {{nowrap|4 × 100 m}} at the same event.{{cite web|url=https://runningmagazine.ca/sections/runs-races/canadas-marco-arop-shines-at-birmingham-diamond-league/|title=Canada's Marco Arop shines at Birmingham Diamond League |last=Dickinson |first=Marley |magazine=Canadian Running |date=May 21, 2022|access-date=July 24, 2022}} In the 200 m, Blake won the Golden Spike Ostrava on May 31, narrowly beating Elijah Hall at the line.{{cite web|url=https://www.kelownanow.com/watercooler/sports/news/Sports/Kelowna_sprinter_Jerome_Blake_wins_200m_race_in_Ostrava/|title=Kelowna sprinter Jerome Blake wins 200m race in Ostrava |last=Assman |first=Bowen |website=Kelowna Now |date=June 1, 2022|access-date=July 24, 2022}}

At the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, Blake did not make it out of the heats of the 100 m, but qualified to the semi-finals of the 200 m. Finishing third in his semi-final, he did not advance further, noting that it "wasn't what I wanted, but it is what it is. It's my first world championships, and I made it to the semifinals."{{cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com/sports/amateur/2022/07/19/canadas-aaron-brown-reaches-200-metre-final-at-worlds-jerome-blake-knocked-out-in-semis.html|title=Canada's Aaron Brown reaches 200-metre final at worlds, Jerome Blake knocked out in semis|last=Gillespie|first=Kerry|newspaper=Toronto Star|date=July 19, 2022|access-date=July 24, 2022}} In advance of the 2022 World Athletics Championships – Men's 4 × 100 metres relay, the prospects of the Canadian team were called into question due to anchor runner Andre De Grasse's struggles with COVID-19 infection shortly before the championships.{{cite news |title=Questions abound about Canadian 4x100m relay team selections at athletics worlds |url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summer/trackandfield/4-100-relay-preview-world-athletics-championships-1.6526827 |last=Heroux |first=Devin |work=CBC Sports|date=July 20, 2022|access-date=July 24, 2022}} However, the Canadian team qualified for the finals with the third-fastest time in the heats, only 0.01 seconds out of second. In the final, the Canadians staged a major upset victory over the heavily favoured American team to take the gold medal, aided by smooth baton exchanges while the Americans made multiple fumbles, breaking the national record in the process. This was Canada's third gold in the event, and the others being consecutive Donovan Bailey-era wins in 1995 and 1997.{{cite news|title=Canada triumphs to world 4x100m relay gold in national record time |url=https://runningmagazine.ca/sections/runs-races/canada-triumphs-to-world-4x100m-relay-gold-in-national-record-time/|last=Dickinson|first=Marley|website=Canadian Running|date=July 24, 2022|access-date=July 24, 2022}} The result "stunned" the heavily American crowd at Hayward Field, though De Grasse noted, "there's a lot of Canadian flags out there, a lot of fans cheering us on."{{cite news |title=Canada wins gold in men's 4x100m relay at World Athletics Championships |url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summer/trackandfield/canada-4-100-relay-world-athletics-championships-final-recap-1.6530328 |last=Heroux |first=Devin |work=CBC Sports|date=July 23, 2022|access-date=July 24, 2022}}{{cite news |title=De Grasse leads Canada to men's 4x100m relay gold at world championships |url=https://www.sportsnet.ca/olympics/article/canada-wins-gold-in-4x100-metre-relay-at-world-athletics-championship/ |website=Sportsnet|date=July 23, 2022|access-date=July 24, 2022}} Blake ran an 8.86 time on the second leg of the race, critical to the result.

Blake was initially named to the Canadian team for the 2022 Commonwealth Games but withdrew after the World Championships, with Athletics Canada citing a need "to properly recover and prepare for the rest of the season."{{cite news |title=Four Canadians including De Grasse, LePage withdraw from Commonwealth Games |url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/commonwealth-games-de-grasse-lepage-brown-blake-withdraw-1.6532169 |work=CBC Sports|date=July 26, 2022|access-date=July 26, 2022}}

The 2023 World Athletics Championships proved a disappointment for the Canadian team, who were eliminated in the heats of the 4 × 100 metres relay and thus were unable to attempt a defence of its World title.{{cite news|title=Canadians suffer shocking elimination in 4x100m relay|url=https://runningmagazine.ca/sections/runs-races/canadians-suffer-shocking-elimination-in-4x100m-relay/|last=Francis|first=Anne|website=Canadian Running|date=August 25, 2023|access-date=August 15, 2024}} In the leadup to the 2024 Summer Olympics, to be held in Paris, Blake joined the Canadian team at the 2024 World Athletics Relays, where they won the silver medal in the 4 × 100 metres relay, in the process securing Olympic qualification in that event as well.{{cite news |title=Canadian men's 4x100 relay team races to silver in World Athletic Relays in Bahamas|url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summer/trackandfield/athletics-canada-olympics-world-relays-recap-may-5-1.7194835 |work=CBC Sports|date=May 6, 2024|access-date=August 12, 2024}} In the 4 × 100 metres relay event, the team finished third in their heat, and with the slowest time of the eight teams that reached the event final.{{cite news |title=Canadian men's, women's 4x100m relay teams earn spots in Olympic finals|url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summer/athletics/track/canada-men-olympic-100-relay-track-round1-paris-1.7288400 |last=Harrison |first=Doug |work=CBC Sports|date=August 8, 2024|access-date=August 12, 2024}} In the final, the Canadians ran a season's best time of 37.50 and captured the gold medal, in what was widely considered a major upset victory, with a botched baton exchange ending the hopes of the heavily favoured American team. The result was heralded as one of the bigger surprises of the Paris Olympics.{{Cite web |title=Andre De Grasse and Team Canada win gold in men’s 4×100 relay |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/10690764/andre-de-grasse-canada-gold-mens-relay-olympics/ |last=Previl |first=Sean |date=August 9, 2024 |access-date=August 12, 2024 |website=Global News |language=en-US}}{{cite news |title=Olympics 4x100 men's relay results: Canada's Andre De Grasse leads gold medal upset over disqualified USA, others|url=https://www.sportingnews.com/us/olympics/news/olympics-4x100-relay-results-updates-highlights-2024-mens/ec7a39515a50f5e41a5dc2e6 |last=Irving |first=Kyle |work=The Sporting News|date=August 9, 2024|access-date=August 12, 2024}}{{cite news |title=Olympic moments that made us laugh, cry, and cheer at Paris 2024|url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summer/2024-paris-olympics-best-moments-1.7289759 |last=Smart |first=Zack |work=CBC Sports|date=August 11, 2024|access-date=August 12, 2024}} Blake called the result "a four person effort coming together to create something that everyone counted us out but us."{{cite news |title='I was probably the slowest on my team': B.C. sprinter's journey to Olympic gold|url=https://bc.ctvnews.ca/i-was-probably-the-slowest-on-my-team-b-c-sprinter-s-journey-to-olympic-gold-1.7001323 |last=Charach |first=Kevin |work=CTV News|date=August 14, 2024|access-date=August 18, 2024}}

References

External links

{{World Athletics|canada/jerome-blake-14654737}}
{{Athletics Canada|jerome-blake}}
{{Team Canada}}
{{Olympics.com}}
{{Olympedia}}
[https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/athlete/jerome-blake_1974065 Jerome Blake] at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics

Category:1995 births

Category:Living people

Category:Canadian male sprinters

Category:Canadian sportspeople of Jamaican descent

Category:Olympic track and field athletes for Canada

Category:Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field)

Category:Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field)

Category:Olympic gold medalists for Canada

Category:Olympic silver medalists for Canada

Category:Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics

Category:Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics

Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics