Agent: Bolt withdraws from 100 at Jamaica trials to train on

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) – Usain Bolt has been removed from the list of entries for the 100 meters at the Jamaica trials, apparently the latest setback for the world record-holder.

Jamaican athletics officials said on Thursday that Bolt was expected to compete in the 100 in Kingston to sharpen his sprinting form against speedsters such as Asafa Powell and Yohan Blake. Bolt was already assured of a spot in the world championships in August in Beijing to defend his 100 and 200 titles.

But Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association officials said Bolt’s name was withdrawn late Wednesday, without elaborating. The heats were on Thursday, and the 100 final is scheduled for Friday.

However, Bolt’s agent, Ricky Simms, said his client was never “confirmed” to run at the Jamaica trials, and put his name in only “to have the option” to compete against his countrymen.

In an email on Thursday, Simms said Bolt’s coach planned to make a decision on Wednesday “if he needed the race or if he preferred him to train ahead” of Diamond League meets in July in Paris and Lausanne, Switzerland.

Coach Glen Mills did not respond to calls seeking clarification on Thursday.

Warren Blake, the head of the JAAA, said Mills did not provide any specific reason for removing Bolt’s name from the trials, at least that he was aware of.

Bolt was slowed by injuries last year, and his performances have been unremarkable so far this season. This month, at the Diamond League meet in New York, Bolt described his 200 time of 20.29, more than a second off his world record, as the worst of his career.

He has looked beatable before and then delivered spectacularly when the stakes are highest. In New York, he said, “when it comes to the championship, everything always comes together for me.”

At the worlds, the six-time Olympic champion is due to face American Justin Gatlin, who ran a 9.74 in the 100 this season.