Usain Bolt won't compete again this year

Usain Bolt is calling it quits for 2010, cutting his season short because of tightness in his lower back less than a week after losing in the 100 metres to American rival Tyson Gay.

Bolt's manager, Ricky Simms, revealed that the world record-holder in the 100 and 200 metres will have treatment to loosen his back and then rest, skipping IAAF Diamond League track and field meets in Zurich on 19 August, and Brussels on 27 August.

"I am very disappointed to miss two of the top meetings on the circuit ... but trust that it is better for me not to take any risks this year," Bolt said. "2011 and 2012 are very important championship years and I hope to be back fully fit and healthy."Simms said Bolt was examined Monday by a doctor in Munich, Germany, who found the back problem. "He has a tightness that restricts his ability to generate power in his stride and continuing to race in this condition could risk injury to his hamstrings or calf muscles," said Simms. Bolt's manager said the decision to take a break was made "with a view to his future career."

Simms also said that an MRI exam showed that a previous left Achilles' tendon injury is healed.

Bolt hadn't lost an individual race in two years until Friday, when Gay beat him at the DN Galan meet in Stockholm. Gay ran 9.84 seconds, and Bolt finished in 9.97.

Afterward, even Gay acknowledged he wasn't racing against a fit Bolt. "I'm really happy with the win," Gay said at the time, "even though Usain Bolt isn't in the best shape."

When Bolt is at his best, no one comes close to him. The Jamaican stole the show on the track at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, winning gold medals and breaking the world records in the 100 and 200 sprints, as well as the 4x100 relay. He followed that up at last year's world championships in Berlin by lowering his marks in the 100 to 9.58 seconds and in the 200 to 19.19.

Meanwhile, former Olympic medallist Kelly Sotherton's injury problems could see her turn her attention from heptathlon to the track. The 33-year-old was unable to compete at last year's World Championships because of a heel problem while a back injury has meant she has already called time on her 2010 campaign. While the 2006 Commonwealth Games champion has been sidelined, her British team-mate Jessica Ennis has become the dominant force in heptathlon, winning world and European titles.

Although Sotherton is confident of being fit for the start of next season, she is less certain about the prospect of doing battle with her countrywoman at next year's World Championships and the 2012 Olympics. Instead, the Birmingham-based athlete, who won Olympic bronze in Athens in 2004, may concentrate solely on the track, where she has some pedigree, having been part of the 4x400m relay team at the Beijing Games. "I might not be doing heptathlon next year or in London. A disc problem is quite severe and I just want to be fit and healthy, so if I can be competitive in running then I might just do that," said Sotherton.