Usain Bolt has 'no respect' for ten-time Olympic medallist 'let off' despite failing several drug tests

Usain Bolt once made it clear he has 'no respect' for an Olympic athlete from a previous generation who won 10 medals but admitted to failing several drugs tests.

Bolt is now retired but the 38-year-old is regarded by many to be the greatest sprinter of all-time and one of the best Olympians ever.

The Jamaican athlete has eight Olympic gold medals to his name across three games and announced his arrival at Beijing 2008 by claiming gold in both the 100m and 200m events.

The Lightning Bolt then competed at London 2012 to win gold in both events once again, as well as being part of the victorious 4x100m Jamaican relay team to take his tally to five medals across only two Olympics.

And Bolt solidified his legendary status by achieving yet another clean sweep in the same three events four years later at Rio 2016 to take his tally to an extraordinary eight Olympic gold medals, before retiring from sprinting the following year.

Throughout the 1980s and the 1990s, Carl Lewis claimed a total of nine Olympic gold medals and a silver across several games.

The American won four golds Los Angeles in 1984 in the 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay and the long jump.

Lewis then won gold in the 100m and long jump at Seoul 1988, plus a silver medal in the 200m.

Carl Lewis. (Image: Getty)

Lewis picked up another two gold medals in the 4x100m relay and the long jump at Barcelona 1992, before winning his last Olympic gold at Atlanta 1996 in the long jump.

Despite Lewis' illustrious career, it was not without controversy, as back in 2003 he suggest he had tested positive for three banned substances but was 'let off' by the United State Olympic Committee.

Speaking to the Orange County Register via the Guardian, Lewis said: "There were hundreds of people getting off.

"Everyone was treated the same."

And speaking back at London 2012 after he won the 200m, Bolt made it clear he had 'no respect' for Lewis, who had in the past questioned the stringency of Jamaica's drug-testing programme.

He said: I am going to say something controversial right now; Carl Lewis, I have no respect for him. The things he says about the track athletes is really downgrading, for another athlete to be saying something like that about other athletes.

"I think he's just looking for attention really because nobody really talks much about him so he's just looking for attention. So that was really sad for me when I heard the other day what he was saying.

"For me it was upsetting. I have lost all respect for him. It was all about drugs, talking about drugs, a lot of drug stuff. For an athlete out of the sport to be saying that is really upsetting for me.

"That was really upsetting for him just to jump up and say something like that. As far as I'm concerned he's looking for attention - that's all."