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Athletics Australia keen to bring Usain Bolt down under for high-profile meet

Xinhua, August 18, 2016 Adjust font size:

Athletics Australia (AA) is reportedly negotiating for Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt to become the face of an Australian-first, TV-friendly and team-based athletics concept, set to hit TV screens sometime in February.

Local media revealed on Thursday that AA representatives had been in negotiations with the 100m world record holder and three-time Olympic 100m gold medal winner, who would headline the brand new Nitro Summer Athletics League, which will be launched in February 2017.

The concept revolves around a fast-paced, TV-friendly platform -- similar to cricket's Twenty20 -- in which teams of around 28 athletes compete in their respective events to "win" the meet. Bolt is reportedly likely to ask for upwards of 750,000 U.S dollars for the appearance.

Under the plan, the events would run for a month with four events across Australia. Major cities Melbourne and Sydney are expected to be two of the cities to host the competitions.

The "Nitro" idea is the brainchild of former Australian Sports Minister and current AA president Mark Arbib, who is reportedly in Rio negotiating to bring Usain Bolt to Australia to be the face of the competition.

According to reports, Bolt would only compete as part of a relay team, however the coup alone is expected to be enough for the concept to bring the crowds and be considered a success.

Athletics Australia is in negotiations with a number of "blue chip" companies in an attempt to find a major sponsor for the event. It's though that Bolt would go a long way to securing a high-paying sponsor.

The news follows reports that Bolt is keen to visit Australia; his favorite cricketer is former Australian Test cricket opening batsman Matthew Hayden, while he said he enjoys the lifestyle down under. Endit