Usain Bolt is puzzled.
Less than three months away from the Athletics World Championships in Beijing, the Jamaican sprinter is still far from being the lightning he once was.
"I don't know what happened, I can't explain it," Bolt said after his victory on Saturday at the Diamond League meeting in New York. He won, yes, but competed against mostly unknown rivals.
The Olympic, world, and record holder of the 100 and 200 meters managed to win with a time of 20.29 seconds (2.8 headwind), an unexpectedly slow time and 61 hundredths of a second behind the year's best time held by Justin Gatlin of the United States.
"I was expecting a time below 20 seconds. He and his coach still have a lot of work ahead," commented former world champion of the 200 meters Ato Boldon from Trinidad and Tobago, now an expert for the American television network NBC.
In his last performance at the Icahn Stadium, Bolt caused excitement by achieving a fabulous mark. On May 31, 2008, he set a new world record in the 100 meters by running in 9.72 seconds in the rain. This time, however, only his well-known jokes elicited some laughter from the spectators.
With his 20.13 at the end of May in Ostrava, Bolt ranks ninth in the best times of the year in the 200 meters, his favorite event. His world record, achieved at the 2009 Berlin World Championships, is 19.19 seconds.
The 28-year-old athlete believes he had a good start in New York, but never found his rhythm. "The way I took the curve was one of the worst in my entire career," he explained.
Normally, Bolt has such an advantage in the 200-meter races that he relaxes toward the end and crosses the finish line without tension. This time, Bolt had to give it his all to beat Zharnel Hughes (20.32 seconds) from the Caribbean island of Anguilla.
After this disappointing race, it is even possible that Bolt will compete in the 200 meters at the Jamaican Championships in two weeks, even though he doesn't need to in order to qualify for the World Championships, as the reigning champion, he is invited.
"Over the next two months, he will compete in many more races with an aggressive disposition to achieve a good competitive form," announced his coach, Glen Mills, with an eye on the Beijing World Championships, which will start on August 22.
After a 2014 plagued by injuries, Bolt admitted that this season is also not "free from problems." However, he tries not to worry about it.
"For one reason or another, I have always found a solution," said the six-time Olympic champion.