Positive Olympic drug tests 'rough': Bolt

Sprint champion Usain Bolt has lamented the news that 31 athletes from the Beijing Olympics have returned positive drug tests.

For Usain Bolt, the announcement that 31 athletes have been caught doping in retests from the 2008 Beijing Olympics was "really bad news."

"It's rough. It's rough in the sport," the Jamaican great said on Wednesday.

"Something that's been tarnishing the sport for years."

Bolt was speaking a day after the International Olympic Committee announced that the 31 athletes could be banned from competing at the Rio de Janeiro Games. He said the World Anti-Doping Agency and others "are doing a very good job of cleaning up the sport. They've proven that anybody who has cheated, they're going to catch."

Bolt will run in the 100 metres at the Golden Spike meet in the eastern Czech city of Ostrava on Friday, his first race in Europe ahead of the Rio Games.

He said he believed that the crackdown on doping could prove successful.

"Hopefully, we can take steps forward in making the sports better and in the upcoming years we won't have these problems," Bolt said.

"But, I think it's a process, and I think over time we will get better because they're doing such a good job."

In track, Russia is banned from competing because of a WADA panel report detailing state-sponsored doping. The IAAF has yet to decide if the Russian track team will be allowed to compete in Rio.


Share

2 min read

Published

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world