Bolt makes sure his All-Stars shine brightest at Nitro meeting
Format just what sport needs, track superstar declares after coasting to 150m individual title
Eight-time Olympic champion Usain Bolt secured a classy win for his All Stars team with two impressive runs on the final night of the inaugural Nitro Athletics meeting and declared the new format exactly what track and field needs.
After restricting himself to a leg of the mixed 4x100m relay on each of the first two nights at Melbourne’s packed Lakeside Stadium, the world’s fastest man contested the 150m, winning convincingly.
Bolt was clearly fastest out of the blocks and around the bend to quickly establish a lead of over 10 metres mid-race, before easing up in the closing stages.
“I’m happy I got to run an individual event, I felt good, and I have to try to stay injury-free,” Bolt told reporters.
“I’ve got a couple of months to go [until the world championships] and I should be fine.”
Final event
The 30-year-old Jamaican star clocked a time of 15.28 seconds, less than a second slower than the world record of 14.35 he set over the distance in Manchester in 2009.
New Zealand’s Joseph Miller finished strongly in 15.44 seconds with Confidence Lawson of England third in 15.69.
Some 45 minutes later, Bolt again ran the second leg of the mixed 4x100m relay, helping his All Stars seal the final event of the night, as they had at the previous two Nitro meets last Saturday and Thursday.
Bolt took the baton from fellow Jamaican Asafa Powell and stretched the lead before handing over to American Jeneba Tarmoh. Another Jamaican, Natasha Morrison, ran the final leg to secure victory for the Bolt All Stars and take them to the top of the points table on the night to claim the first Nitro trophy ahead of Australia.
Bolt predicted a bright future for the Nitro format.
“It was brilliant. It was exciting, it was different,” he said.
“I knew that this is what track and field needed.”