Usain Bolt unsure whether competitors at his Olympic Games swansong will be clean
Six-time Olympic champion Usain Bolt admitted last night that he cannot be completely sure that his gold medal competitors at the Rio Games will be clean athletes.
Jamaican Bolt, 29, will bid to complete the ‘triple triple’ of Olympic sprint titles in Brazil by retaining his 100m, 200m and 4 x 100m relay crowns which he won in Beijing in 2008 and London four years ago.
The build-up to the Games has been overshadowed by the spectre of the Russia drugs scandal, which culminated in last month’s World Anti-Doping Agency-commissioned McLaren Report. The report found evidence of widespread state-sponsored doping across numerous summer and winter Olympic sports over a four-year period.
If Bolt is to secure his ‘triple triple’ then he will likely have to beat the likes of Justin Gatlin and LaShawn Merritt in the 100m and 200m finals, both of whom have served drugs bans.
“In life nothing is guaranteed,” said Bolt at his Rio press conference when asked if sprint races in Brazil would be free from doping.
“For me, going out there I never worry about that. I just go out there and compete.
“That is down to WADA and the IOC (International Olympic Committee) to deal with. I go out to compete and wow the crowds.
“I think we’re going in the right direction, I must say. I think we’re weeding out the bad ones. We have to go through a rough time before we get to the good times. I believe it will be a clean sport in a few years.”
Bolt also confirmed that Rio would be his Olympic swansong. He added: “This is my last Olympics, for sure. I have done everything, and have proven myself.”