Usain Bolt’s Olympic quest is in question after the sprint superstar left his country’s national championships with a hamstring injury shortly before he was going to run the 100-meter final Friday night.
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After clocking 10.04 in his 100m semi-final at the Jamaican Olympic trials, Bolt did not run the final and will now rely on gaining medical exemption to compete at the Rio Games, if he can prove his fitness beforehand.
Bolt withdrew from the final of the men’s 100m after Friday night’s semi-finals, with Yohan Blake winning the trial in 9.95 seconds.
But Gatlin is in no doubt that Bolt will recover in time.
“We’re going to see his face in Rio one way or another”, American world silver medallist Gatlin said at the U.S. Olympic trials on Saturday. “We wanted to see if he could finish the day”, Mills said. “I feel like if he gets well he’ll be there”. “That’s just the mystery in the air of the Olympics”.
The Jamaican athletics governing body allows for medical exemptions if an athlete can show an injury denied them a chance to compete at the trials.
“The JAAA’s Selection Committee is headed by Glen Mills, who, incidentally, coaches Bolt, with general secretary Garth Gayle, director of records Ewan Scott, technical leader Maurice Wilson, along with senior coaches, including Paul Francis and Hamlin Pagan, also on the panel”. If Bolt is seriously hurt, the entire Olympics will take on a new perspective, whether it’s Bolt at less-than-full strength or – still unthinkable at this point – absent altogether.
In the 2008 Beijing Games, Bolt set world records in the three events.
Usain Bolt is preparing to “begin his journey” as he looks for a cure to the injury that is threatening his Olympics dream. “If I was a rookie, I might have thought I hit the lottery”, Gatlin said.
Blake, who finished second to Bolt at the London Games in the 100, said he was confident that the world record-holder will be in Rio.
Powell will only run the relays in Rio, said “we needed him here tonight”.
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“It was a good race for me, as I have backed off on my starts in practice for a few weeks, concentrating on my finishing, and it is coming along well and I am really impressed on how I am finishing”.
