Usain Bolt loses an Olympic gold medal after teammate’s doping appeal is denied
A year after retiring as the greatest sprinter in history, Usain Bolt has seen his career total for Olympic gold medals drop from nine to eight.
Bolt got the news on Thursday as an international court upheld the disqualification of one of his teammates on the victorious Jamaican 400-meter relay squad at the 2008 Beijing Games.
Nesta Carter tested positive for a banned substance eight years after the race when the International Olympic Committee ordered that past samples be reexamined using new scientific methods.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport stated it “could not accept any of the arguments raised by Nesta Carter contending that the test results should be ignored or that the ... decision should otherwise be overturned for certain alleged failures.”
Bolt and Carter teamed with Michael Frater and Asafa Powell to win the relay in a world record time in China. They have all been ordered to return their medals.
The gold now goes to Trinidad and Tobago. Japan will be upgraded to silver and Brazil will get the bronze.
The decision ruined Bolt’s spotless record of winning gold in the 100, 200 and 400 relay at the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Summer Games.
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