Usain Bolt, Jamaican sprint superstar, was forced to withdraw from his country’s Olympic trials just before the 100m final on Friday night in Kingston due to injury.
According to Rio 2016 reports, Bolt’s withdrawal does not however mean he will miss the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, where he aims to defend the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay titles he won at the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 games.
Jamaica’s selection policy allows medical exemptions and Bolt’s team handed one in after Friday’s semi-finals, in which he aggravated a hamstring injury that had troubled him in Thursday’s qualifiers.
Nugent Walker, Bolt’s executive manger confirmed the news, less than 20 minutes before the race, saying: “Bolt is out of the remainder of the championship on medical exemption.”
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In a tweet, Bolt said he would seek to prove his fitness at a meeting in London later this month.
Bolt has run the second fastest 100m time (9.88 seconds) this year, strengthening his case to claim Jamaica’s third place. However, he is yet to run in his preferred event, the 200m.
Bolt had clocked 10.04 to win the first semi-final after a poor start and was due to square off in the final against Yohan Blake, who clocked 9.95 to win the other semi-final.
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Blake went on to win the final in 9.95, with Nickel Ashmeade second, one hundredth of a second behind.
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