Bolt saddened by Jamaican doping

TRIPLE Olympic champion Usain Bolt last night admitted he was saddened by the news that five fellow Jamaican athletes had tested positive for a banned substance.

The athletes – four men and one woman – are not thought to be any of the Olympic medal winners from last summer’s Games in Beijing.

“I’m not sure who it is yet, I’m sure it’s not me so I’m not really worried,” Bolt said after winning the 100 metres at last night’s Aviva London Grand Prix at Crystal Palace. “If it’s someone from my group I don’t know, I can’t comment.

“Definitely it’s sad to know there are still drugs (in the sport) but for me it doesn’t really matter, as long as I’m clean I’m just going forward.

“For me it doesn’t matter because I will be going out there, day after day, doing my best. I get tested all the time. It shows that people get tested and they get caught if they are on drugs.

“Sometimes you move forward and you take one step back. It’s hard but I’m trying my best to push the sport forward. I think after a while people will notice that you can’t get away with it and they’ll stop, but for now I guess we can’t do anything about it.”

Former world record holder Asafa Powell added: “It’s not for me to worry about, it doesn’t affect me one bit. People might be saying bad stuff now but it doesn’t really bother me.”

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) earlier confirmed news of the positive tests.

IAAF spokesman Nick Davies said: “We have just received the paperwork from Jamaica, it is five – four guys and one girl. These are in-competition tests.

“We now inform the (Jamaican) federation who will then inform the athletes and then they are asked if they want the B sample tested.

“It’s very, very early in the process so we cannot say who they are or what the substance is.”