Jamaican sprinter eyes London amid doping appeal

Kingston. Jamaican sprinter Nesta Carter, who returned to competition on Saturday as he battles a doping charge, has his eye on the athletics World Championships in London in August.

The 31-year-old who won an individual bronze in the men’s 100m at the 2013 Moscow World Championships has been a staple in the all-conquering Jamaican sprint relay teams that have swept all before them since 2008.

But a re-test of his sample from the 2008 Beijing Olympics was found to be positive for the banned substance methylhexaneamine, which resulted in Jamaica -- and superstar Usain Bolt -- being stripped of the gold medal last month.

Minutes after anchoring his MVP TC team to second in the men’s 4x100m relays at the 39th Milo Western Relays in Montego Bay and without mentioning his doping case, Carter said he was “grateful” to be competing again after being out of action for 17 months.

“Yes the World Championships are this year, but we still have a few meets to go before we get there, just one meet at a time,” said Carter, who hadn’t raced since a meeting in Rieti, Italy, in September of 2015.

Carter, whose appeal of his doping sanction is thought to have been filed with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, was welcomed back to competition by a loud, appreciative crowd that cheered when his name was mentioned by the meet announcer.

“It is always good running at home and in front of the home fans and you try and put on a good show for the fans,” said Carter, who was cleared to run days earlier after the IAAF ruled that he had not been banned despite the retroactive positive test from 2008. (AFP)