Bolt set to skip CWG 2010, says agent

The Delhi Commonwealth Games doesn’t feature in Usain Bolt’s list of priorities and the fastest man on earth is set to skip the October event, his agent said.

The Olympic and world champion in 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay would be busy preparing for the 2011 World Athletics Championships and won’t have the time for Commonwealth Games scheduled in October, his manager Ricky Simms told a British newspaper.

“It’s now looking unlikely Usain will be going to the New Delhi. His priorities have to lie elsewhere. First and foremost is his four-year plan leading up to the next Olympics, which is exactly what he did prior to Beijing in 2008,” Simms said.

“It’s started well enough with what he achieved at last summer’s Berlin World Championships, but this year is all about the Diamond League and a continuation of his preparation for 2012. He also views the World Championships in 2011 and 2013 as crucially important,” he added, elaborating on Bolt’s schedule this year.

Simms said Bolt would need to rest around the time Games are held and it would be too exhausting to run in Delhi.

“The timing of the Commonwealth Games is the issue here. By the start of October, Usain will have needed to have rested and then began his pre-season which, as every athlete knows, is massively important,” Simms explained.

“If you don’t get your pre-season right, then you won’t get the following summer right. If Usain ran in Delhi, it would not only require him to stay at his best from pretty much May through to October, but then delay his pre-season until Christmas or the new year,” he said. (PTI)