Editions
Los 40 USA
Scores
Follow us on
Hello

'No hard feelings' for Bolt over gold medal disqualification

Nesta Carter's doping violation cost Jamaica an Olympic gold medal, but Usain Bolt says he bears no ill will. Warriors @ Cavaliers

'No hard feelings' for Bolt over gold medal disqualification
Getty Images

Usain Bolt claims he does not hold a grudge against Nesta Carter despite his fellow sprinter's doping violation costing him an Olympic gold medal.

Bolt saw his haul of Olympic golds diminish to eight in January, as the International Olympic Committee stripped Jamaica of the men's 4x100 metre relay crown they claimed in Beijing in 2008, Carter having tested positive for a banned substance when a sample was re-examined. 

Jamaica's Olympic champion Usain Bolt (C) plays mas during the presentation of "Zero Degrees - The Life Below" by TRIBE during carnival celebrations
Full screen
Jamaica's Olympic champion Usain Bolt (C) plays mas during the presentation of "Zero Degrees - The Life Below" by TRIBE during carnival celebrationsANDREA DE SILVAREUTERS

Just "one of those things"

"I haven't spoken to him but I have no hard feelings," Bolt told CNN.

"It's just one of those things that happens in life." 

Asked what he would say if he talked to Carter about the incident, he replied: "I don't know. I really don't know. My friends have asked me what I'm going to say and I don't know."

As for whether he ever suspected Carter of breaking the rules, Bolt said: "I never would have thought that.

"I haven't gotten to talk to him to find out exactly what happened, how that went down so until I see him I can't really say he did it on purpose or it was a mistake or I should be angry."

Usain Bolt
Full screen
Usain Bolt

No possibility of further positive tests

The 30-year-old rejected the possibility that further violations by team-mates could come to light as samples continue to be reassessed using more advanced technology. 

"No, definitely not," he said.

"I'm not worried about that. [Even] if I lose all my relay gold medals, for me, I did what I [said I would] do with my personal goals and that's what counts."

Bolt is also adamant that losing an Olympic title will not discourage him from retiring after the World Championships in London in August.

"Maybe if it had come before the [Rio] Olympics, it would have taken away a little from me and then I would have thought about it," he said.