4 Nov 2016

Usain Bolt to race in Australia

6:20 am on 4 November 2016

Nine-time Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt will race in Australia for the first time in February next year.

The greatest track and field athlete of all time is likely to earn upwards of a million dollars as the star attraction in the inaugural edition of the Nitro Summer Series in Melbourne in the week of Feburary 5-11.

Usain Bolt Olympic gold medalist Rio 2016

Usain Bolt Olympic gold medalist Rio 2016 Photo: PHOTOSPORT

The series will involve up to eight teams representing countries and regions.

With the meets taking place so early in the year, the 30-year-old Bolt is likely to only contest relays.

But his signing is still a massive coup for Athletics Australia (AA) and the Victorian government.

After winning a third straight golden Olympic treble in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay in Rio in August, Bolt reiterated his intention to retire from track and field after the 2017 world championships in London.

But, speaking at Flemington on Thursday, he left open the possibility of remaining in the sport until the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.

Bolt's great American rival Justin Gatlin - who has served two doping bans - has also been linked with the Nitro Series.

-AAP