Andre De Grasse injury denies sprinter World Championship race with Usain Bolt
Thursday 3 August 2017 14:04, UK
The man tipped to push Usain Bolt in his grand finale in London has been forced to pull out of the World Championships because of an injury.
Canadian sprinter Andre de Grasse will be out of action for up to six weeks and leave the 100m glory to Bolt after tearing his hamstring during training.
The 22-year-old sprinter has been tipped as the Jamaican's successor in the sprinting events after clinching silver at the Rio Olympics in the 200m event.
At a pre-championship media conference in London this week, Bolt was asked who he believes could fill his shoes when he retires and he said: "I'm not going down that road.
"The last guy I said was going to be great disrespected me."
De Grasse's coach Stuart McMillan had claimed earlier this year that the Jamaican legend had denied his rival entry at a Diamond League meeting in Monaco.
On De Grasse's Facebook page, he said: "Injuries are a part of the sport, and the timing of this one is especially unfortunate."
He was positioned to challenge Bolt's swansong having achieved a wind-assisted 9.69 seconds at the Diamond League meeting in Stockholm where the Jamaican was absent.
De Grasse added: "I'm in the best shape of my life and extremely disappointed that I will not have the chance to compete for my country in London. I'll be back stronger and faster than ever."
The Olympic stadium holds special memories for Bolt as he defended his 100m and 200m Olympic titles in the stadium at the 2012 London Olympics.
He will still face stiff competition in the 100m event from American Justin Gatlin and Christian Coleman, as well as Jamaican team-mate Yohan Blake.
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