Usain Bolt was once stripped of an Olympic gold medal for a heartbreaking reason nearly a decade after winning it.
Bolt, 38, is an eight-time Olympic gold medallist but once boasted nine triumphs.
During his hugely successful sprinting career, he smashed world records in the 100m, 200m and 4 x 100m relay and is still the only athlete to win 100m and 200m golds in three consecutive Olympics – in 2008, 2012 and 2016.
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The Jamaican completed the remarkable ‘triple triple’ of golds at the Rio de Janeiro games in Brazil only for the achievement to be taken from him after his teammate from the Beijing games in 2008 tested positive for a banned substance.
According to reports by BBC Sport, Carter, 39, was tested on the evening of the 4 x 100m final in Beijing, China.
No “adverse analytical finding” was found at the time.
However, an anomaly was discovered in Carter’s sample following the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) decision to retest 454 samples from the games using updated scientific methods.
Carter and the Jamaican team were then informed of the adverse finding in May 2016.
Reuters reported that his ‘B’ sample also came back positive for a banned substance.
The decision was appealed by Carter in February 2017 before a hearing was held in Switzerland in November 2017. The ban was upheld.
The substance named Methylhexanamine had been on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) prohibited list since 2004 but was reclassified in 2011 to a “specified substance”.
“It’s heartbreaking [the positive test] 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,” Bolt said when pressed on the situation in 2016.
“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.”
In another interview [quotes via talkSPORT] he added: "I am disappointed based on losing a medal.
“But it won't take away from what I have done throughout my career, because I have won my individual events and that’s the key thing.”
He explained: "What can you do? I've done all I wanted in the sport, I have really impacted the sport, I've really accomplished a lot, so for me, I can’t complain."
And despite sporting one less gold medal, there's no doubting Bolt's legacy in the sport and his long-standing world records speak for themselves.
Topics: Usain Bolt, Olympics, Athletics, Jamaica
Luke Davies