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SPORTSThursday 25 August 2016

Without Bolt, track and field starts life after Olympics

GRAHAM DUNBAR  In this Aug. 18, 2016 file photo, Usain Bolt from Jamaica celebrates winning the gold medal in the men’s 200-meter final during the
AP Sports Writer athletics competitions of the 2016 Summer Olympics at the Olympic stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.Â
LAUSANNE, Switzerland
(AP) — As Usain Bolt par- Associated Press
ties in London, around 30
Olympic medalists includ-
ing nine champions have
headed to Switzerland for
the first major track and
field meeting since the Rio
de Janeiro Games.
Still, none are named Bolt —
now being photographed
daily outside nightclubs
by British paparazzi — and
without the sport’s biggest
star there are unsold tickets
for the Athletissima meet in
the Diamond League se-
ries. Bolt’s absence lets fel-
low Jamaican sprint gold
medalists Elaine Thomp-
son and Omar McLeod
take center stage at the
14,000-capacity stadium in
the International Olympic
Committee’s home city of
Lausanne. Meet director
Jacky Delapierre said the
stadium would have been
sold out “for sure” if Bolt
was running, though noted
the sport must get ready

3 Olympic weightlifting gold for a new era. “We have to Olympics, the 22-year-old
be prepared for the future McLeod could build on his
medalists fail doping retests without Bolt,” Delapierre, 110 meters hurdles gold to
who has worked in track become a star.
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — In this Aug. 9, 2008, file photo, China’s Chen Xiexia holds up for nearly 40 years, told “I know for sure the sport
Three Olympic champion 90kg in the snatch of the women’s 48kg category of the weight- The Associated Press on won’t die when Bolt is
weightlifters from China lifting competition at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China. Wednesday. “We are at gone,” the former Universi-
and eight other medalists the end of a cycle now.” ty of Arkansas student told
stand to be stripped of their Associated Press Delapierre is in talks to bring The AP. “I know that there
titles after failing retests of Bolt back to Lausanne for are a lot of athletes who
their doping samples from Andrei Rybakou of Belarus, talya Davydova and Olha likely the last time next July will step up to the plate, es-
the 2008 Olympics. who won silver in 2008. All Korobka. Four other weight- ahead of the 2017 world pecially in the sprints.”
The International Weightlift- tested positive for various lifters from Beijing 20008 championships in London. McLeod acknowledged
ing Federation says the 11 anabolic steroids, accord- who did not win medals “You can have a show that, although Bolt’s show-
tested positive for a range ing to the IWF. were also named as having without Bolt,” the veteran manship can’t be copied,
of banned substances in The other medalists are failed tests. They include Ka- organizer said, reminding athletes need to entertain
the latest scandal to shake Anastasia Novikova of Be- zakhstan’s Maiya Maneza that the stadium was full for the crowds.
the sport, which is already larus, Kazakhstan’s Maria and Belarus’ Iryna Kulesha, his July 2015 meeting. “You “I definitely think personal-
processing retests which Grabovetskaya and Irina both of whom won medals have to sell a show. There ity goes a long way,” he
caught numerous medal- Nekrasova, Russia’s Khad- in 2012 but not 2008 and are (are) new athletes.” said. “People pay to see
ists from the 2008 and 2012 zhimurat Akkaev and Dmitry already suspended over re- Freshening up track’s personality, people pay to
games. They are all provi- Lapikov, and Ukraine’s Na- tests from 2012.q headline series is a prior- see fast times.”
sionally suspended until the ity for meet directors, who Olympic champions also
doping cases are resolved. plan talks in Brussels next in action Thursday include
The IWF said in a statement month after the Diamond 100 and 200 champion
on its website Wednesday League finals program. Thompson in the shorter
that Chinese gold medal- Some already met with event, while Bolt’s 4x100 re-
ists Cao Lei, Liu Chunhong IAAF President Sebastian lay teammate Asafa Pow-
and Chen Xiexia all tested Coe in Rio this month, ell headlines the men’s 100.
positive for GHRP-2, which Delapierre said. Matthew Centrowitz, the
stimulates growth hormone “I think athletics has a 1,500 champion, runs in a
production, while Liu also good future beside Bolt,” rare 1,000-meter race, and
tested positive for the stimu- he said, urging the sport other United States gold
lant sibutramine. The other to work now on finding a medalists include Dalilah
eight medalists include cur- new vision. “We have not Muhammad in the 400
rent world record holder to wait for one more year hurdles, Michelle Carter in
with Bolt.” shot put, and Tianna Barto-
Looking to the 2020 Tokyo letta in long jump.q