Usain Bolt says sprinter Tyson Gay should be ‘kicked out of the sport’

Usain Bolt, right, was beaten by Tyson Gay in 2010 and the Jamaican has admitted that Gay previously 'pushed me to do my best.' Photograph: Maja Suslin/AFP/Getty Images

Usain Bolt has insisted that fellow sprinter Tyson Gay should be “kicked out of the sport” and labelled the decision to reduce his ban and reinstate the American following his failed drugs tests as “the stupidest decision I’ve ever heard.”

Gay, who is the second fastest man in history behind Bolt after running the 100m in 9.69 seconds in 2009, tested positive for banned anabolic steroids in the summer of 2013 and was banned for one year by the United States Anti-Doping Agency after “co-operating” with the organisation.

He forfeited a silver medal he won with the 4x100m relay team at the London 2012 Olympics and had his results from July 2012 wiped out. Upon returning to the sport in July last year, Gay said he had felt “welcomed with open arms.”

But Bolt told Runner’s World that he was not happy with Gay returning to athletics last summer: “I was really upset about that. He got a year just because he talked to the authorities about how it was done and who helped him. That sends the wrong message: ‘If you do it and get caught, just tell us all you know and we’ll lower your ban.’ It’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. The message should be: ‘If you cheat you’re going to be kicked out of the sport.’ ”

Bolt is expected to line-up alongside Gay at this summer’s World Championships in Beijing, the city where he won four Olympic gold medals back in 2008, but the Jamaican admitted he was not relishing the prospect of racing his American rival.

“I’m not looking forward to competing against Tyson. It really bothers me. I’m not worried about him beating me, I think it’s because I respected him so much over the years. He was a competitor, kept me on my toes and he pushed me to always do my best. Then to find out that he was on drugs — it’s a bit like I think parents must feel when they have a kid who does something bad and lets them down. I feel like he let me down and he let the sport down.

“You have to drive fear into athletes, to make them think about the consequences of their actions,” Bolt contined. “If they’re getting an easy penalty why would they care?”

Last month, Nike dismissed reports that they were about to add Gay to their roster following the sports organisation’s decision to sign another sprinter reinstated from a drugs ban, Justin Gatlin.

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