Usain Bolt thinks that Tyson Gay should be banned for life after serving a one year ban for doping. Gay, the second fastest man all-time next to Bolt, was reinstated after a one-year ban for anabolic steroids in 2013. 

 

According to The Times, Bolt commented that he was disappointed in Gay’s one-year ban:

 

“I was really upset about that. He got a year just because he talked to the authorities about how it was done and who helped him. That sends the wrong message: ‘If you do it and get caught, just tell us all you know and we’ll lower your ban.’ It’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. The message should be: ‘If you cheat you’re going to be kicked out of the sport.”

 

Gay tested positive in 2013 after first using a product that contained a banned substance in July 2012, less than three weeks before his first race at the London Olympic Games. He was forced to return his Olympic silver medal earned as a member of the U.S. Olympic 4x100m team. Gay cooperated with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, and as a result, a potential two year ban was reduced to one. 

 

Bolt has competed against his rival for years, and the two expect to toe the line against each other this summer at the World Championships in Beijing. But Bolt is not looking forward to the match-up with his longtime rival. 

 

“I’m not looking forward to competing against Tyson,” Bolt said. “It really bothers me. I’m not worried about him beating me, I think it’s because I respected him so much over the years. He was a competitor, kept me on my toes and he pushed me to always do my best. Then to find out that he was on drugs - it’s a bit like I think parents must feel when they have a kid who does something bad and lets them down. I feel like he let me down and he let the sport down.”

 

“You have to drive fear into the athletes, to make them think about the consequences of their actions. If they’re getting an easy penalty why would they care?”