I'm back, says Blake

LONDON, England:

He had to work a little harder than he expected to book his lane in today's men's 100m semi-final, but the wry smile at the end and the confident bounce through as he made his way from one interview to the next tell the story of a sprinter who has rediscovered his swagger.

"I want to show the world that Yohan is back," said Blake, who recovered from a truly insipid start to finish second in 10.13 seconds behind Japan's Hakim Sani Brown, 10.05 with China's Zhenye Xie, 10.13 matching his time for third place.

It has been a while since Blake stepped on the track at a World Championships, in fact, the last time he did so, he left it as the youngest ever World Champion in the 100m back in 2011 in Daegu, South Korea.

It's a reality that is not lost on the now low-trimmed Blake, who said he was feeling good and looking forward to today's semi-final despite the testy race he put together yesterday.

"It feels great to be back, and I want to go out there and replicate what I did back in 2011," Blake noted before assessing his race.

Feeling strong

"I got out of the blocks pretty slowly, but I just did enough to get through, but I am feeling good still, and I am feeling strong. I just want to take it round by round and let people see that I am here, but trust me, I have something coming!" Blake exclaimed.

"Being in the outer lane may have affected me a little bit, but I don't blame it on the lane, I just needed to come out of the blocks better. I just want to stay strong and take it round by round," he added.

Blake entered the World Championships with the second fastest time recorded this season in the 100m with a 9.90 second clocking which leaves him behind American Christian Coleman's 9.82 seconds.