Bolt's Asia trip up in the air, says agent
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A fatigued Usain Bolt will wait until this weekend to decide whether or not to compete in China and South Korea later this month, his agent told Reuters yesterday, rebuffing media reports the world's fastest man had canceled his Asian trip.
"I have informed organizers in Shanghai and Korea (Daegu) that we will continue to analyze his performance until after the world athletics final (in Thessaloniki, Greece on Sunday), and see how he is," Ricky Simms said.
Triple Olympic and world champion Bolt is scheduled to run 100m races in Shanghai on Sept 20 and Daegu on Sept 25 after competing in the 200m at Thessaloniki.
The 23-year-old Jamaican said after recent meetings in Zurich and Brussels the long season in which he broke both his 100 and 200m world records had left him fatigued.
"He's a jewel in the crown of athletics ... he's the golden man ... and hopefully can run for 10 years, so we don't need to over-race him this year," Simms said.
"Yes, he could earn good money (in Asia) but it is very important that he not overdo it this year. It will be pretty much after Sunday, when we make a decision," Simms said.
The trip to Asia, if he makes it, would be Bolt's first since his eye-catching, triple gold performance at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in which he set world records in the 100 and 200m and led Jamaica to a world mark in the 4x100m relay.
Bolt shattered both individual world records with another stunning performance at last month's World Championships in Berlin, running 9.58 seconds in the 100m and 19.19 in the 200. He also led Jamaica to the world 4x100m relay gold.
"We have been analyzing his performances and everything since the World Championships - coach (Glen) Mills and myself - and everyone saw he was very, very tired in Zurich," Simms said.
(Reuters via China Daily September 10, 2009)
