Usain Bolt won the gold for the 100-meter final on Aug. 3.
LONDON — In the men’s 200 meters Thursday, Usain Bolt will be attempting to run into history, becoming the first sprinter to win the 100 and 200 in consecutive Olympics.
[h=6]Jed Jacobsohn for The New York Times[/h]Yohan Blake, left, and Usain Bolt after the 100-meter final.
“If he wins, that should end the debate about who is the greatest sprinter in history,” said Ato Boldon of Trinidad and Tobago, who won bronze medals in the 200 at the 1996 Atlanta Games and the 2000 Sydney Games. “Anyone saying it is not Bolt would be doing it without objectivity.”
If there is one athlete who can prevent the 6-foot-5 Bolt from claiming this record, it appears to be 5-11 Yohan Blake, his countryman and training partner. Blake finished second in the Olympic 100 and defeated Bolt in the 200 at the Jamaican trials, running him down from behind.
Most experts favor Bolt, who appeared to have solved issues with his back and his starting technique Sunday in winning the 100 in 9.63 seconds, the second-fastest time ever run.
Yet the 200 requires endurance as well.
Bolt, 25, set a world record of 19.30 seconds at the 2008 Beijing Games and lowered it to 19.19 at the 2009 world championships in Berlin. But it remained to be seen Thursday whether he had sufficiently recovered in recent weeks from his health issues — his back problems led to tightness in his hamstring — to have sufficient stamina to hold off Blake in these Games.
“You have to be able to run the turn well and position yourself from the turn to the straightaway,” said Boldon, now a commentator for NBC. “The most important thing is, you only have one tank of gas. You can’t burn it too soon. You’re going to need it for energy management and technique over the last 50 meters.”
If Blake, 22, had any advantage Thursday, it might be that he drew Lane 4 in the staggered start and could keep an eye on Bolt ahead of him in Lane 7 through the turn. At the Jamaican trials, he caught Bolt in the 200 and won in 19.80 to Bolt’s 19.83.
A breakdown of that race by Sports Illustrated noted that, subtracting Blake’s slow reaction to the starter’s gun, Blake covered 200 meters in 18.99 seconds, compared with 19.06 for Bolt.
Last year, Blake, who is known as the Beast because of his resolute training style, ran the second-fastest 200 ever, 19.26 seconds, at a meet in Brussels.
“Blake is the only one that, if Bolt has a bad night, can run him down if he is tiring,” Boldon said.
Jon Drummond, the Olympic relay coach for the United States and a former 100 and 200 sprinter, said he gave the edge to Bolt on age, experience, maturity and theatrical comfort on the sport’s biggest stage.
“It gives you a little intimidation factor, like Michael Johnson had in the ‘90s,” Drummond said. “Bolt has been here before. It’s all natural for him. Blake is still trying to find his identity. He’s got this Beast thing going, but as long as Bolt is around and at his best, Blake might be a sidekick.”
He did not anticipate a world record Thursday, Drummond said.
“Records come not just from having fast runners in the race, they come when you are relaxed,” Drummond said. “Bolt didn’t set a record in the 100 because he was challenged by Blake. It forces you to change the dynamics of your race.”
