17 Fresh COVID-19 Cases in Odisha; Total Rises to 287

Bhubaneswar, May 9 (PTI) Odisha on Saturday reported 17 new COVID-19 cases, taking the total number to 287, the Health and Family Welfare Department said.

Twelve new cases were reported from Ganjam district, three were detected in Mayurbhanj and one each in Bhadrak and Sundergarh district, it said.

The total number of infected people rose to 83 in Ganjam district. The number of cases in Bhadrak stood at 25 and total 13 cases were detected in Sundergarh.

At present, there are 222 active cases in the state and 63 people have recovered. Two people from Bhubaneswar have succumbed to the disease, an official said.

There are currently 298 people in hospital isolation in the state, he said.

The state health department had on Friday conducted 3,348 tests for COVID-19, he said, adding that Odisha has so far tested 56,322 samples.

As per an analysis by the department, 240 of the state's total 287 cases have been reported from five districts. Ganjam reported 83 cases, Jajpur 55, Khurda 50, Balasore 27 and Bhadrak 25.

In a span of eight days, Ganjam has reported 83 cases. The majority of the cases reported from Ganjam were those of Surat returnees, the official said.

Tribal-dominated Sundergarh district reported 13 cases, while eight cases were detected in coastal Kendrapara, followed by the northern districts of Mayurbhanj at seven and Jagatsinghpur at five.

Two cases each have been reported in Cuttack, Jharsuguda, Bolangir, Keonjhar and Kalahandi, and one each in Puri, Dhenkanal, Deogarh and Koraput districts. PTI AAM SOM KJ KJ 05090926 NNNNthey could make a different kind of history in 2021.

The oldest Olympic champion in the men's 100 meters remains Linford Christie, who was 32 when he won at the 1992 Barcelona Games, according to research by Olympic historian Bill Mallon. As for the oldest Olympic medalist in the event, that distinction belongs to Gatlin, courtesy of his silver at the 2016 Rio Games.

"It's pretty cool to know we can hang with these younger guys and still be competitive," Powell said. “And be ones to reckon with for the gold medal."

That's nothing to laugh at. Gatlin won a silver medal at the world championships last year.

Powell, who's healthy after dealing with nagging groin strains and hamstring tightness, said he's still doing the same reps at the same tempo as when he was younger.

This won't be easy for the 30-somethings. American Christian Coleman won the 100 last season at the world championships in Doha and his teammate, Noah Lyles, took the 200.

Canada's Andre De Grasse earned medals in both, and some consider him, not Gatlin or Powell, the prime challenger. None will have reached their 27th birthday by the time the starting gun goes off in Tokyo.

"They're very talented," Gatlin said. "But sprinting also comes with understanding and learning and wisdom and some patience. Those are all qualities you get as you get older."

Life has changed for Gatlin, as it has for everyone, since the COVID-19 pandemic forced the shutdown of gyms and training facilities across the country.

He's been squeezing in training sessions on the grass in Clermont, Florida, and watching plenty of shows on Netflix.

And yet, there's so much that hasn't changed.

Gatlin has never really talked much about retirement, so there was never an assumption that he'd be done, even after the 2020 Olympics were over.

He thought maybe he'd hang on for 2021, when the world championships were supposed to take place in Oregon — the first time they'd been contested on American soil.

It would have been a fitting send-off. But now, maybe that meet won't happen until 2022.

Those questions aside, Gatlin has a little more certainty in knowing he doesn't have to prepare for Olympic trials in June or the Olympic track meet, which would've started in August.

"It's now business as usual," said Gatlin, who returned to track in 2010 after a four-year doping ban.

"I don't think a year is going to change anything. ... I'm just going to rest as much as I can."

That's the same blueprint for Powell, who was the most beloved male sprinter in Jamaica before Bolt — and maybe during Bolt's reign, too.

"It is different not having (Bolt) around," said Powell, who tested positive for a stimulant in June 2013 and received a ban that was reduced on appeal to six months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

He later sued the manufacturer of the supplement and settled out of court.

"He's just a superstar."

Despite his world-record speed, Powell's still missing an individual gold medal at either the Olympics or world championships. Could 2021 be the year he finally breaks through? Only time will tell.

"I think it will be exciting to just even try," Powell said of prolonging his career.

"Just the challenge and knowing I have a long time to work on certain aspects of my game." (AP) PM

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)