Crowned the world’s second-fastest man, Yohan Blake hardly requires an introduction. A three-time Olympian, and the sprinter who hovered closest to Usain Bolt’s untouched record, he is in the league with some of the world’s finest athletes. But did he scale to these lofty heights all by himself? Well, no. Fortunately, there have been a few amazing mentors in his life who helped unveil Blake’s innate brilliance.

Amongst the multiple coaches that have guided Blake professionally, the one that he presently trains under is Michael Frater. Interestingly, while he is now his coach, Frater was once Blake’s contemporary. Yes! Also, the two have sprinted to victory together at the coveted Olympics Games. Eager to know more about the duo? Let’s get into the details.

Know Michael Frater

In the latter half of 2023, Yohan Blake shifted his coaching camp and started training under Michael Frater’s regime. But he was not a new name in the athletics community. Many were well-versed with him, especially Jamaican sprinters. 1982-born, Frater is a 3-time Olympian, who debuted at the 2004 Athens Games, where he partook in the 100m dash and the 4x100m relay event, but returned home empty-handed.

Showing up at the next meet in Beijing, Frater narrowly missed the medal yet again. Despite clocking a 9.97 in the 100m dash, he ended up sixth in the race. But as they say, third time’s a charm. Something similar happened with Frater, when he made his appearance in London, 2012. Not only did he speed to victory in the 4x100m event, but he did so with Yohan Blake as one of his gold-winning relay partners.

But, the Olympic stories are not all that Frater’s resume boasts of. He bagged a silver medal at the 2005 World Championships, bringing glory to the Jamaicans. Moreover, he emerged champion at the 2003 Pan American Games, in the 100m category. Unfortunately, in 2017, Frater was forced to retire from his recurrent knee issues.

And under his tutelage, Blake was incredibly confidence of his chances to make it to his fourth Olympics, a mark that not many have touched. “To be honest, I know I have a lot left with me and I know I can spring some surprises. I am just really focusing on getting this year to start off on a good level,” he said. And his muse for the same was going to be Frater. Now, even though Blake did not make it through the Jamaican Trials 2024 and will not be going to Paris, he has had a brilliant career run, trained by some of the best in the business.

How many coaches have worked with Yohan Blake? Know them all

Athletes are lucky if they get one experienced mentor in their lives. Blake was fortunate to have 5. They helped smoothen out the rough areas and refine his potential over the years. Resultantly, they turned him into a polished diamond who went on to etch his name in track history! In the early days of Blake’s career, he shaped his skills under the watchful eye of Danny Hawthrone, his school sports coach at Sr. Jago High. “He took training very seriously, and only missed it because of reasons beyond his control,” Hawthorne fondly remembers his pupil.

Come 2008, Usain Bolt’s fiery sprints inspired Blake to want something like ‘that.’ He thus parted ways with his former coach and joined the Racers Track Club in Kingston. There he encountered coach Glen Mills, who initially thought Blake was in a ‘mess.’ But successfully identified his problem. “His body was sitting down and arm movement wasn’t going far back enough, which is where acceleration takes place,” Mils said. And once the duo worked on that, there was no stopping Blake, who became the youngest man to run a sub-10 timing in 2009.

For the next 10 years, Blake had his golden period Mills’ guidance, and became the world 100m champion in 2011. But subsequently, given a few ‘differences’, Mils informed he wasn’t coaching the Jamaican anymore. Blake then switched to coach Patrick Dawson for the 2019 season.

The same year, the ‘Beast’ further moved on to a Jamaican hurdler, Gregory Little, who took over as his new coach.Irrespective of the transition, Yohan Blake had an upsetting return from the Tokyo Olympics. However, he did pick up the 200m and 100m gold spots at the 2022 Jamaican National Championships.

But after a 4-year-long tenure with Little, Blake bid farewell to him and finally ended up under Frater’s supervision. Yet, working with such seasoned coaches, Blake’s added some great skills to his arsenal. What do you think of his visionary mentors? Let us know.