Anthony Foster
Kingston, Jamaica – Usain Bolt will make his international debut this season at the Jamaica International Invitational, on May 2nd.
The Jamaica International is one of a select group of Area meetings at which points can be acquired by athletes to qualify for the IAAF / VTB Bank World Athletics Final, to be held on September 12-13 in Thessaloniki, Greece.
Organisers announced at a news conference on Wednesday (March 11) that fellow Jamaicans and Beijing gold medallists, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Melaine Walker and Shelly-Ann Fraser, would join Bolt, who won the 100 metres and 200 metres in World record times of 9.69 and 19.30 at the Beijing Olympics, for the meet.
“We are very thankful and grateful to have those athletes,” said Howard Aris, chairman of the organising committee and president of the Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association (JAAA).
Bolt’s coach Glen Mills was unable to say what event Bolt will run. In an earlier interview, he said it would depend on the competition.
“We want to make sure we have some kind of competition,” Mills said in a previous interview.
Richard Thompson, Trinidad and Tobago’s 100m Olympic silver medal winner, is listed for the men’s 100m.
Meanwhile, USA’s 100m Hurdles Olympic champion Dawn Harper, along with fellow Americans Kerron Clement and Sanya Richards, second in the men’s 400m Hurdles and third in the women’s 400m respectively, have also confirmed for the meet.
“These four (overseas athletes) are officially in the meet,” said Don Quarrie, the 1976 Olympic 200m champion who is the meeting’s director..
Regarding other entries, Quarrie said within a week’s time they will be getting official confirmation. “We have verbally confirmed 80 per cent of the athletes, but I prefer to have something in writing before I can officially release the names,” he said.
