Dopers must stop else athletics will die: Bolt

Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, who prepares to race for the final time in his illustrious career, has issued a stern warning to his fellow athletes, saying they must stop doping otherwise track and field will die.

Bolt, an eight-time Olympic champion, will retire after this month's World Championships where he will run in the 100m and 4x100m beginning Friday in London.

"I don't think it gets any worse than that," the Guardian quoted him as saying while referring to the problems in Russia which he agreed had left the sport at rock bottom.

"But it's on its way back up now. Hopefully, athletes will see what's going on and understand that if they don't stop what they're doing the sport will die," he added.

Bolt, however, said he was hopeful that these perennial problems could be tackled as doping is not at all good for the sport.

"You can't be happy about doping at all, it's not good for the sport. But over the years we're doing a better job, it's getting clean and we're catching up to a lot of athletes. There's an understanding that, listen, if you cheat you will get caught. Over time the sport will get better," he said.

"I said a couple of years ago it had to get really bad, when there's nowhere else to go but up. The only way track and field has left to go is up," he added.

The Jamaican sprinter, considered as the greatest sprinter of all-time, completed a 'treble treble' of 100m, 200m and 4x100m Olympic titles at the 2016 Rio Games, but had his 2008 relay gold stripped last month after team mate Nesta Carter's re-tested sample showed traces of a banned substance.

Carter was part of the Jamaican quartet that won the 4x100m in the Beijing Olympics. However, Carter has said he will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

-ANI