Bolt and Gay to duel in Brussels

ATHLETICS:TRIPLE OLYMPIC champion Usain Bolt will race chief rival Tyson Gay at Brussels on September 4th, Gay's manager has said.

“It will likely be a 100 (metres), but it is confirmed they will race,” Mark Wetmore said.

“Discussions also are under way for the two to race in Zurich on August 28th.”

The distance in Zurich is yet to be decided, Wetmore added.

“There have been a couple of discussions,” Gay said. “Mark says people really want to see a one-off race (between the two).”

Jamaican Bolt and American Gay, who have not met on the track this year, are expected to be the major draw of the World Championships in Berlin this month. Both are scheduled to run at 100 and 200 metres.

Bolt set world records in both sprint events at the Beijing Olympics.

Gay, the 2007 double sprint world champion, did not appear in either final. He failed to qualify for the 100 metres championship race and did not compete in the 200 at Beijing because of a hamstring injury at the US trials.

Meanwhile, five Brazilian athletes training in Germany for the world championships have failed out-of-competition doping tests and will return home, the Brazilian Athletics Confederation (CBAt) has said.

According to a CBAt statement, sprinters Bruno Lins Tenorio, Jorge Celio Sena, Josiane Tito and Luciana Franca, and heptathlete Lucimara Silvestre had tested positive for the banned substance recombinant EPO.

The CBAt said the five had asked for the B sample to be tested and would return home to await the outcome.

“The athletes, who are banned from taking part in competitions until the results of the respective counter-tests are known, are returning home, accompanied by their coaches . . . and prefer to present their defence in (their own) country,” the statement said.

“Due to the seriousness of the incident, the CBAt has ordered an administrative inquiry.”

The tests were carried out in Presidente Prudente, Brazil, on June 16th, the CBat added.

Tenorio was in the Brazil team which finished fourth in the men’s 4x100 metres relay at the Beijing Olympics, while Tito and Silvestre also competed at the Games.