Usain Bolt has withdrawn from the Jamaica Olympic Trials/Jamaican Senior Championships on Friday — held June 30 – July 3 at the National Stadium in Kingston — just minutes before the Men’s 100m final.
According to reports, Bolt withdrew due to Grade 1 tear — Hamstring Injury. The legend applied for a medical exemption which was granted by The Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA), the national governing body for the sport of athletics / track and field in Jamaica, after his run in the Men’s semi-final. Bolt won his semi-final in 10.04 earlier, after recovering from a poor start to finish ahead of Senoj-Jay Givans, 10.05 and Jevaughn Minzie, 10.07.
Usain Bolt has since released a statement following his withdrawal:
— Usain St. Leo Bolt (@usainbolt) July 2, 2016
The medical exemption requires that he must prove his fitness later this July at a Diamond event.
Starting the recovery process right away. pic.twitter.com/J0HuvxOfiJ
— Usain St. Leo Bolt (@usainbolt) July 2, 2016
Bolt will not compete in the 200m in the on Saturday but could still compete in Rio. The Jamaica Athletic Administrative Association selection policy allows for medical exemptions, so long as athletes can prove the injury prevented them from competing at the trials. The medical exemption requires that he must prove his fitness before July ends. Bolt ran 9.88 in the 100 meters at Racers Grand Prix in Kingston on Jun 12 after stumbling at the start.
The Jamaican Senior Championships is used to select the national team to represent and compete in the 2016 RIO Olympics between August 5 and 21 — unlike the IAAF World Championships, no wild cards are available. We’ll update this story as more information becomes available
