Usain Bolt is running his third 100 of the year in Monaco on Friday. The fields in the first two meets were ... less than stellar.
The field in Monaco is actually pretty good (Christopher Belcher, Akani Simbine, Omar McLeod, CJ Ujah), but apparently it could have been even better.
Andre De Grasse's coach, Stuart McMillan, said that De Grasse was scheduled to run in Monaco.
"We were in the [100] race. We got booted out. That's all on Bolt," De Grasse's coach Stuart McMillan told CBC Sports recently. "Let's just say he wanted not such an elite field against him."
If that's true, it's a real bummer, but I'm not totally surprised.
The article also had some interesting stuff about something called a "protection clause." I'm quoting some of it below:
"'Typically in the men's 100, the elite sprinters will have secure graces, or a protection clause, that allows someone like Bolt to control the field in a race 'which is a great thing if you're afraid you're going to lose' or unsure how you're going to perform, explained Kris Mychasiw, managing partner of Montreal-based Sprint Management.
"He added that's why you don't often see American Justin Gatlin line up with Bolt or De Grasse because the winner's value rises and the loser's value plummets.
"'Prior to the Monaco event,' said Mychasiw, 'Bolt might have had a clause in his contract that said he doesn't have to race anyone ranked in the top five or top 10 in the world, and that the field would need to be approved by himself and/or his management company.'"
FYI, since the start of 2014, Bolt has never raced Gatlin or De Grasse outside of Worlds/Olympics.
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summer/trackandfield/de-grasse-bolt-monaco-preview-1.4212034