Returning an Olympic gold medal that brought pride and glory is a heartbreaking situation for any player. It’s a prospect that no athlete hopes to face and somebody like Usain Bolt would never count himself among those.
But the unfortunate reality is that the legendary Jamaican stands to lose the relay gold medal that he won for his country at the 2008 Beijing Games and that too, because of no fault of his own.
His relay teammate Nesta Carter reportedly features in the list of names who failed the retests of drug samples done in the wake of widespread doping allegations. After shocking revelations of the Russian state-sponsored doping programme, as many as 454 samples were under the scanner with improvised technology so that none of the tainted athletes can participate in the upcoming Rio Olympics.
Also Read: Bolt to run in London in Rio tune-up
31 athletes across six sports from the Beijing Games were identified who would be taking part at the mega quadrennial Games this year and, unfortunately for the six-time Olympic gold medallist Bolt, Carter is on that doomed list because of the banned stimulant methylhexanamine.
According to the amended rules of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), all the members of a relay team will have to concede their medals if one of them is found guilty and that has resulted in a distressing scenario for Bolt.
It thoroughly jeopardizes the illustrious Jamaican’s attempt to go for the ‘triple-triple’ at Rio this year, something surely nobody envisaged. Last week, Bolt talked about his heartbreak, but being the lifelong advocate of clean sports, also emphasized that he will be ready to surrender the medal if the call comes.
“It’s heartbreaking because over the years you’ve worked hard to accumulate gold medals and work hard to be a champion ... but it’s just one of those things,” the 29-year-old told The Telegraph.
“Things happen in life, so when it’s confirmed or whatever, if I need to give back my gold medal, I’d have to give it back, it’s not a problem for me,” added the sprint legend.
