Bolt's great – but my time is coming soon, says Yohan Blake

Yohan Blake: The Jamaican sprinter is to play in the Big Bash T20 event in Australia (Getty Images)

The Jamaican Olympic gold medallist Yohan Blake believes the time will come when he takes over from his fellow countryman Usain Bolt as the world's fastest man.

Blake joined Bolt as part of the Jamaica team which won the men's 100m relay gold medal at the London Olympics after finishing runner-up to his training partner when he repeated his 2008 double gold performance in the 100m and 200m.

The 22-year-old, who had beaten Bolt in the national Olympic trials, has set his sights on being No 1 by the next Games in Rio in 2016. Blake, who has remained in London following the Games, said: "When I beat him at the Jamaican trials, that gave me a lot of confidence."

Bolt was carrying an injury when he arrived in London but shrugged it off to retain his 100m and 200m titles, beating Blake into second place in both races. Blake admitted: "When I came into London, I knew [that] when he got a bit of fitness he was going to be great. I think this is his time – and I'm going to get my time."

Blake believes that their sprint rivals try to put pressure on him and Bolt by trying to come between them, but declares they are wasting their time. "A lot of people try to break us up – they say we can't train together. We have a wonderful chemistry. We are friends."

The Jamaican also paid tribute to the British fans who made him very welcome in London. "I think it was a wonderful Olympic Games. The people... every day the stadium was full and the British, they supported us, not only their athletes. I love London, I love the British people. When I finished my race and I won my medal people were hugging me, I loved that."

Blake, who was steered away from playing cricket and towards athletics when friends saw how fast he could run when he bowled, confirmed that he intends to take part in the Big Bash League, a Twenty20 competition in Australia, along with Bolt. "I could be a top man for the West Indies," he warned.

Meanwhile, the New Zealand shot-putter Valerie Adams is itching to get her hands on the London Olympics gold medal that is now hers after the original winner failed a dope test, but is bracing for a long wait that may spill over to next year.

The Belarusian Nadezhda Ostapchuk took gold in London with a throw of 21.36 metres but has subsequently given a positive sample. Adams, who hurled 20.70 metres to finish behind Ostapchuk, was the natural beneficiary of the outcome but her manager, Nick Cowan, was not sure when she would eventually get to feel her second successive Olympic gold.

"If a medal was available today she wants it today, which is fair enough. But she wants to celebrate it in New Zealand as well and, in all reality, I think what we are staring at is a medal presentation in New Zealand, which she is really excited about," Cowan was quoted as saying in yesterday's New Zealand Herald.

"But we don't know if that is going to be in a month's time, three, 10 or 12 so therefore we are preparing ourselves for a long haul.

"We can only hope that it will be quick and this side of Christmas, but it may not be and I have had that discussion with Valerie," he added.

What might further delay a medal ceremony for Adams was the fact that Ostapchuk was defending herself, the report added.