LONDON (AP)

Insisting that he is running clean, Usain Bolt said yesterday that the recent spate of doping scandals in athletics will damage the sport.

They won't affect his preparations for the upcoming World Championships, however.

The world's fastest man stopped short of condemning Jamaican teammates Asafa Powell and Sherone Simpson or American rival Tyson Gay, whose failed doping tests have left the sport in turmoil ahead of the Worlds in Moscow next month.

"Definitely, it's going to set us back a little bit," Bolt said in London, ahead of a Diamond League meet, his first competition in the city since his three gold medals at last year's Olympics.

"But as a person I can't focus on this. "I still have World Championships. Everyone is stepping up their game so I have to really focus on that. ... I am just trying to work hard, run fast and hopefully, help people to forget what has happened, and just move on."

Bolt will run the 100 metres today and the 4x100 relay tomorrow at the Olympic Stadium in a meet marking the anniversary of the start of the 2012 London Olympics.

In his first public comments since news of the high-profile doping cases broke, Bolt promised that he won't be the next sprint star to be embroiled in a scandal.

"I was made to inspire people and to run, and I was given the gift and that's what I do," the six-time Olympic champion said. "I am confident in myself and my team - the people I work with. And I know I am clean.

"So I'm just going to continue running, using my talent and just trying to improve the sport."