The fastest man the world has seen, the greatest athlete ever, Usain Bolt, has confirmed he will race in Melbourne this summer.
During the Rio Olympics Bolt had flagged his interest in coming to Australia to be part of the radical new Nitro athletics series but it was not until this week that details - and funding - was confirmed and he agreed to compete.
The Nitro series will be an early season start for Bolt ahead of what was thought likely to be his final major international event, the world championships in London. However in a TV interview on Thursday at Oaks Day, Bolt said he had not yet ruled out competing on the Gold Coast at the Commonwealth Games in 2018.
Athletics Australia is still scrambling to pull together the new Nitro series in time but securing the biggest name in the world was the first and most important signing.
Details of the new Nitro series are scant but the three-meet series will be staged in Melbourne between February 4 and 11.
It is as yet unknown if Bolt will run all of the individual sprint events or just a relay.
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