Usain Bolt is no longer listed to run the 100 meters at Jamaica's national senior trials on Thursday, sparking concerns about his fitness ahead of defending his sprint titles at this year's world championships in Beijing.
The 100- and 200-meter world-record holder has struggled for form this year with modest best times of 10.12 seconds in Brazil and 20.13 in Ostrava.
The 10-time world championship medalist, who expressed concerns after a pedestrian 20.29 to win the 200m at the recent New York Diamond League meeting, had intended to run at the Jamaican trials as he seeks race sharpness.
But Bolt's name was missing from a list of athletes for the 100 released by the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) late on Wednesday.
The 100 gets underway at 10 a.m. local time on Thursday with a qualifying round. The quarterfinals are scheduled for 6:55 p.m.
Bolt had been entered along with Yohan Blake, Asafa Powell and Nesta Carter in the preliminary list published by the JAAA on Sunday.
The six-times Olympic gold medalist has wildcard entries for the 100m and 200m at the world championships in Beijing from Aug. 22-30 as defending champion.
Bolt's coach Glen Mills and agent Ricky Simms have yet to respond to questions about what Bolt's next move will be.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.