World 100-metre record holder Usain Bolt has sparked health worries by not running in a hometown meet where he had planned to race after being sighted in Germany instead.
Bolt did not run at Saturday’s Camperdown Classic at Jamaica’s national stadium after a statement three days earlier in which he said he was “happy to be healthy”, “excited to begin my season” and “looking forward to a good performance.”
Bolt’s coach, Glen Mills, denied Bolt had planned to compete in Kingston and said his superstar pupil, set to defend Olympic 100 and 200 gold in August at London, was “overseas on his personal business.”
Mills said he was shocked about notions that Bolt might be injured, even as some within his Racers Track Club say he departed the Caribbean island as early as last Wednesday to undergo precautionary tests for a nagging leg tightness.
World 100m champion Yohan Blake said after a second-place 400m finish at the Camperdown meet that training partner Bolt is fine.
“Bolt is quite OK,” Blake said. “He is doing well in training. He is getting back to his old self. He is off the island to do a general checkup. He’s OK.”
Any disturbance to Bolt’s training is a concern with his bid at repeating Olympic gold less than six months away and a host of rivals, including Blake and fellow compatriot Asafa Powell, anxious to try and dethrone him.