Usain Bolt was forced to launch a passionate defence of his record-breaking achievements as he spoke for the first time about the drug scandal involving two of his leading rivals.
The Jamaican admitted athletics had been hurt by the positive tests for his compatriot Asafa Powell and American Tyson Gay, which have plunged the sport into its biggest crisis of credibility in years.
But the world record holder and double Olympic champion over 100 and 200 metres insisted fans should have complete confidence he was clean.
He said: “If you were following me since 2002 you would know that I have been doing phenomenal things since I was 15. I was the youngest person to win the world junior title at 15, I ran the world junior record at 18, the world youth record at 17.
“I have broken every record there is to break, in every event I have ever done. For me, I have proven myself since I was 15. I have shown I was always going to be great.”
He added: “I was made to inspire people and to run. I was given a gift and that’s what I do. I am confident in myself and my team, the people I work with. And I know I am clean.”
It is a fact, though, that the recent revelations, the most serious doping scandal to hit athletics since the BALCO episode, have affected a sport in which Bolt is the most famous face.
“Definitely it’s going to set us back a little bit,” he said.
The Jamaican is competing in the Sainsbury’s Anniversary Games at the Olympic Stadium this weekend, running in the 100m on Friday and the 4x100m relay on Saturday. It will be his first time competing in Great Britain, outside of the Olympics, since 2009.
Gay and Powell, the second and fourth fastest men in history, are still waiting for the results of their ‘B’ samples. Powell’s failed test for the banned stimulant oxilofrine has been blamed by his camp on new nutritional supplements he had been taking.
Meanwhile Jessica Ennis-Hill has confirmed she will take part in the games.
The Olympic heptathlon champion only made her comeback from a troublesome Achilles tendon injury on Tuesday, but has had no adverse reaction to her return to competition.
She will compete in the 100 metres hurdles and the long jump this weekend, which would mark her first time competing in a track event since winning gold at London 2012.
Being fit enough to compete is a major boost for the 27-year-old, and the Great Britain team, with little more than two weeks to go before the World Championships get under way in Moscow.
The heptathlon in the Russian capital takes place on August 12 and 13.