Usain Bolt confirms he’d race Mo Farah over 600m, but no date or venue set

Jamaican sprint star Usain Bolt has arrived in Moscow for the world championships, and confirmed to The Independent in a video interview that he would face British distance runner Mo Farah in a battle over 600m. But Bolt didn’t offer a venue or time frame. at some point.

“We don’t know if it will happen but we’ll definitely be thinking about it, to see if it’s possible that it will fit in our schedules.”

Farah and Bolt established a friendship after they both won individual double gold at the 2012 London Olympics, Bolt in the 100m and 200m and Farah in the 5000m and 10,000m.

The two have been talking about running a head-to-head charity race, and Bolt has confirmed if the event does happen that the distance will be 600m. Bolt has said he could handle a 600m as he’s done that distance in training. And even though Farah is a long-distance specialist, he’s known for his closing speed, which was evident when broke Steve Cram’s 28-year-old British record in the 1500m last month.

As for his disqualification in the 100m at the last world championships after a false start, Bolt says he’s not worried at all about it. “I’m back to regain my title and I’m even more focused that the last time, so I’m ready to go and I’m going to get it done.”

With American Tyson and Gay and Jamaican Asafa Powell out of the worlds after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs, Bolt’s main rival in these world championships will likely be American sprinter Justin Gatlin, who recently won the 100m event at the Diamond League race in Monaco with a 9.94 in his first competition since recovering from a hamstring injury.

Bolt says he’s still highly motivated despite the diminished field. “For me I’m really motivated to go again and show the world that even though nobody is there I can still win,” he said, “so I’m focused and I’m ready to go.”