Jamaican athletics great Usain Bolt will not have to make up his mind as to whether he will run the 4x400m relay after his team-mates failed to finish their Olympic heat on Thursday.
The 25-year-old, who has already won the 100m, bids later Thursday to retain his 200m title and become the first male athlete in Olympic history to achieve the sprint double twice.
Bolt had indicated he would run in the relay final if he was asked to, depending on how he felt after the 200m and the 4x100m relay.
But Jermaine Gonzalez pulled up lame halfway round the third leg in Thursday’s 4x100m, meaning Jamaica are out of the event.
American great Carl Lewis won three sprint golds in 1984. In 1988, he had to make do with silver in the 200m but was handed 100m gold after Canadian winner Ben Johnson was disqualified for doping.
