Jamaican sprint phenomenon Usain Bolt will line up in the 200m during the World Athletics Final here Saturday and Sunday for what could be his last appearance of a memorable 2009. The triple world and Olympic champion and world record holder in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay was scheduled to compete in Shangahi and Daegu, South Korea, later this month but canceled those trips Friday because of fatigue. In Greece Bolt will be competing in his ninth 200m competition of the year. His season also featured fifteen 100m, a 150m exhibition race on the streets of Manchester, a number of 4x100m relays, including the World Championship final, and even the 400m in individual and relay form at the very start of the season. Fatigued or not, Bolt, who has improved his world records in both the 100m (9.58sec) and 200m (19.19), has produced stellar performances on cue whenever needed, even when the conditions were against him. The Greek public can therefore expect another high-octane performance from the star of last year's Beijing Olympics, whose last performance in the 200m saw him register a time of 19.57 - the fourth quickest in history - despite mild temperatures in Brussels last week. ‘Lightning Bolt' will not be the only familiar face on show in Salonika, however, with no less than 28 recently crowned world champions also making the trip. Ethiopa's Kenenisa Bekele, winner of the 5,000m and 10,000m, America's Sanya Richards (400m) and Russian pole-vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva, who shared one million dollars by remaining unbeaten in the Golden League series, will all be looking to swell their bank accounts even further. World athletics governing body the IAAF has put up three million dollars of prize money for the 36 weekend events, with $30,000 going to the winners of each competition and $2,000 to the finalists. Croatia's Blanka Vlasic will once again attempt to beat Bulgarian Stefka Kostadinova's 1987 world record of 2.09m in the women's high jump, having failed to do so by a centimeter in Zagreb at the end of August. Isinbayeva is another budding record-breaker, as she seeks to add to the 5.06m mark she set in Zurich on Aug. 28. Bolt canceled races in China and South Korea because of fatigue, the Jamaican said on his website Friday. The triple Olympic and world champion was scheduled to run 100m races in Shanghai on Sept. 20 and Daegu on Sept. 25. “I have been suffering from fatigue from as early as the Zurich meet and after careful discussions with my coach and management team, even with medical advice, we felt it necessary to close the season,” read a statement on his website. “The season has been long and has been challenging with early challenges I faced. In addition the risk of injury becomes greater and if I compete in the shape I am in, I may be at great risk,” he added.
