ROME (AP) Golden Gala organizers say Usain Bolt will skip the Rome Diamond League meet on June 5, citing reported injury problems.
However, Bolt's manager Ricky Simms tells The Associated Press that the 100- and 200-meter record holder didn't have a contract to run the Rome meet and that he is not aware of any injuries.
Rome meet director Luigi D'Onofrio said in a statement Monday that ''we were warned a few days ago about Bolt's problems. ... Then the confirmation came: Bolt will skip the Rome stop of the Diamond League, the first meet he had decided to compete in. Obviously we're disappointed.''
Simms says Bolt will make his European season debut in Ostrava, Czech Republic, on June 17.
Bolt had a rare 100-meter loss in Rome last year, when American sprinter Justin Gatlin beat him by one-hundredth of a second.
