AFP
Rio de Janeiro, July 29: Usain Bolt will launch an audacious bid for three Olympic sprint gold medals for an unprecedented third time as the perfect antidote to a year of turmoil in his drug-tainted sport.
Track and field has been dragged through the ringer with bans and suspensions since Sebastian Coe took over as president of the IAAF in Beijing last August on a ‘zero-tolerance’ anti-doping mandate.
Widespread corruption at the heart of the IAAF, involving Coe’s disgraced predecessor Lamine Diack, was linked to shocking levels of institutional doping in Russia, one of track and field’s powerhouses. In November, the IAAF issued a blanket ban of Russia’s track and field athletes over the state-sponsored doping allegations.
One supporter of the IAAF’s blanket ban on Russia is Bolt, the six-time Olympic gold medallist who is also the world record holder in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay.
“This will scare a lot of people, or send a strong message that the sport is serious about cleaning up,” Bolt was quoted as saying by the IAAF in a release. “It’s sad (Russia’s ban), but rules are rules. I don’t make the rules, I don’t make the decisions. I just have to go along with it. If you feel like banning the whole team is the right action, then I’m all for it.”
IAAF president Coe added: “I feel the pain that we all feel at the moment because we love our sport. It’s been painful to see where our sport is at the moment in public perception.”
And so the stage is set for Bolt in his quest for an unprecedented third Olympic treble. “This is where history is going to be made, I’m excited to put on a show for the entire world to see. This is my final Olympics, it’s a big one,” he asserted after arriving here. “I am ready to defend my titles.”
Ironically, Bolt’s closest rival looks like being Justin Gatlin, the 34-year-old American who has served two doping bans and credits his longevity on the track to time spent off it due to his enforced absences.
While the Jamaican and US squads, and in-form Dutchwoman Dafne Schippers, battle it out in the sprints, Britain’s Mo Farah will bid to defend his 5,000 and 10,000m from the usual Ethiopian and Kenyan competitors.
