Usain Bolt stars at Nitro Athletics event in Melbourne
- Published
Nitro Athletics: Usain Bolt takes on the world |
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Venue: Lakeside Stadium, Melbourne Dates: 4, 9 and 11 February |
Coverage: Highlights on BBC Two on Sunday, 5 February from 14:45-15:45 GMT; BBC One on 11 February 13:15-14:00; BBC Two on 12 February 13:00-14:00. |
Usain Bolt's team of All-Stars won the first day of the inaugural Nitro Athletics event in Melbourne in a series IAAF president Lord Coe says will "revolutionise" the sport.
Eight-time Olympic gold medallist Bolt was the star attraction as six teams of 12 male and 12 female athletes competed in a mixture of old and new events.
Bolt raced in the mixed 4x100m relay, which his All-Stars won.
"I was just enjoying myself from the start to the end," said Bolt, 30.
"Everybody was just having fun. Everybody was trying to support their team-mates - going over to the long jump, to the javelin - that's something we're not really used to."
During the meet, flame cannons shot fireballs into the air and there were dancers as pop music blared out, with a 7,000 crowd at the 8,500-capacity stadium.
The All-Stars, Australia, England, New Zealand, Japan and China competed across 12 events, with points awarded for each athlete's placing.
The 4x100m mixed relay featured two male and two female athletes, with Bolt handing over to American Jenna Prandini.
"We just want to do something different," said Bolt. "I've never handed [a baton] over to a girl. For me that was exciting."
There was a men's elimination mile, where the last-placed runner was eliminated at the end of each of the first three laps of the track.
In the 2x300m mixed relay, England's Christine Ohuruogu and Theo Campbell finished third.
The second of the three-event series will take place on Thursday, 9 February, with the final one on Saturday, 11 February.
Full results and points table available here., external
- Published2 February 2017
- Published28 January 2017