Having failed to secure an individual spot on Jamaica’s team in the men’s 100m at last year’s World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, Ackeem Blake has expressed that he is much more focused and determined to erase that memory, as he seeks to represent the country at next month’s Olympic Games in Paris.

Blake, who was highly favoured to secure one of the three individual spots on the team last year, finished a disappointing fourth in the final of the men’s 100m and was only selected to the national side as a member of the 4x100m relay squad.

However, the 22-year-old’s confidence has been boosted significantly this season after he won a bronze medal in the 60m event at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, in March.

Blake will head into next week’s National Senior Championships at the National Stadium as the second-fastest Jamaican in the 100m, with a time of 10 seconds, which he achieved at the same venue on March 8.

Oblique Seville from the Racers Track Club is the fastest Jamaican this year with a time of 9.82 seconds.

Seville, who finished fourth in the 100m final at the World Championships last year, is also ranked as the second-fastest man in the world for 2024 behind Ferdinand Omanyala of Kenya with a time of 9.79 seconds.

Blake told the Jamaica Observer that he, along with his coach Michael Frater at the Dynamics Track Club, have been working hard this season on all aspects of his technique is feeling very confident ahead of the National Championships.

“I am healthy, and so I am going into the National Championships healthy. I am not pressuring myself, and my coach is not pressuring me as well, so I am just going out there and having fun. Once I am healthy, I know that I am going to do well,” Blake said. “Everything is on point right now. I am mentally focused, and I am preparing well, so everything is good leading into the Trials.”

“I am just going to go out there to do my best because I know that I am going to do well, so, everyone, just stay tuned and watch out for me,” Blake said.

Blake, who has a personal best time of 9.89 seconds in the 100m and 20.45 in the 200m, showed a lot of resilience and courage in his last outing at the French Foray development meet on Saturday, when he stumbled at the start of the men’s 100m event and almost fell on his face. However, he recovered well to finish second with a time of 10.30 seconds behind the winner Bouwahjgie Nkrumie of Racers Track, who won in 10.21.

Reflecting on his performance at the end of the race, Blake said, “I was trying to execute as my coach said, but unfortunately, the blocks slipped and I also fell on my face. But I didn’t stop, I just picked myself up and finished the race.”

“I am not feeling any pain or anything from this mishap, so I am good. I am just trusting my coach, and I am working really hard in training. I am looking to put it all together at the Trials,” he said.