Jamaican sprinting star Usain Bolt admitted that he most likely would not have beaten American Justin Gatlin this season, considering his injuries and the form that the American has been in all year.

Bolt recently pulled the plug on his season after only one serious individual race - a 9.98 effort in Poland, after injuries affected his preparation and build-up.

The 100m and 200m world record holder also featured in Jamaica's gold medal winning 4x100m relay team at the Commonwealth Games, running a leg in the heats and final in Glasgow.

Gatlin on the other hand has been in scintillating form this year, winning all 15 of his 100m races this season - posting a world leading and personal best 9.77 at yesterdays Brussels Diamond League in an impressive double, which also saw him win the 200m in 19.71.

The American is also responsible for the fastest time over 200m this season with his 19.68 posted in Monaco in July topping the list.

Speaking to NBC, Bolt who underlined his self-confidence once fit, said in reference to this season, that if he competed more often, he could probably beat the American, but not in the sort of shape that both are in at this point.

"I never doubt myself. In life, you learn that you will lose some. For me, I'm always confident. As long as I'm fit, I'm confident. If I get injuries, I slightly won''t be so confident, but I'm always going to be ready to race," said Bolt.

"If I had gotten a little bit more races under my belt, yeah (I could beat Gatlin). But perfect conditions, if he's running 9.8, I don't think so. I don't think I would beat him," added Bolt.

Bolt went on to again throw his support behind a lifetime ban for drug cheats and hailed Jamaican great Herb McKenley as the greatest Olympian of all time.

Asked what would be his focus if he was the president of the IAAF, Bolt replied: "One thing I'd have to really try to address is always going to be drug use. I think one thing I would put in place is that if you make a mistake, you get a ban for a couple years. But if you seriously did it on purpose, you should be banned for life."

Gatlin served a ban after testing positive for a banned substance.

"Herb McKenley. Back in the days, these guys are my idols growing up. I live to see these guys. These guys really pushed the barrier coming up and did great for Jamaica starting out. I lived to see these guys and be just like them," said Bolt.

McKenley, the first Jamaican Olympic 100m medallist, won four Olympic sprint medals over the 1948 and 1952 Olympics.