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Sports

No guarantee Rio sprints will be clean, says Bolt

Rio de Janeiro, Aug 9 

Six-time Olympic gold medal winning sprinter Usain Bolt has admitted there are no guarantees he will be defending his sprint titles against a completely clean field here.

In a bid for a golden farewell to the Games, the track-and-field's biggest star will seek a third consecutive win in the 100metre, 200m and 4x100m relay at the Rio Games, although his new challenge is to beat the 200m world record that he himself set at 19.19 seconds.

The build-up to Rio has been dominated by the Russian doping scandal, while Bolt's rivals Justin Gatlin and LaShawn Merritt have both served drug bans.

“In life nothing is guaranteed. For me going out there I never worry about that. I just go out there and compete,” Bolt was quoted as saying by Sky Sports when asked whether he could be certain of a drug-free sprint contest on Monday.

"I think we're going in the right direction, I must say. I think we're weeding out the bad ones. We have to go through a rough time before we get to the good times,” the Jamaican added.

Bolt, 29, again confirmed he is competing in his final Olympics.

Bolt clocked 19.89 seconds in 200m at the Anniversary Games in London in July in his first appearance since pulling out of the Jamaican trials.

He was picked for the Olympics after getting a medical exemption, leading to comments from Gatlin and others.

Gatlin, considered his main 100m rival, was among those who earlier claimed the Jamaican - who has struggled with a hamstring injury - got preferential treatment he would not receive were he an American.

 Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt aims to claim a new 100-200-4x100 triple win in Rio Olympics and will try to smash the 200-metre world record.

Bolt on Monday insisted that he will put the finishing touches to his Olympic career in the Brazilian city, Efe news reported.

"This is my last Olympics, for sure. I have done everything, and have proven myself. A lot of people aren't happy," said Bolt.

In a bid for a golden farewell to the Games, the 'Lightning Bolt' will seek a third consecutive win in the 100-metre, 200-metre and 4x100 relay, although his new challenge is to beat the 200-metre world record that he himself set at 19.19 seconds.

Bolt explained that the 100-metre sprint is not stressful but he feels nervous in the 200-metre race.

"I really, really, really want that one," said the Jamaican, referring to breaking the 200-metre world record, which he aims to destroy in less than 19 seconds.