MELBOURNE, Australia — The inaugural Coles Nitro Athletics series kicks off in Melbourne on Saturday, February 4, and you can watch live online streaming coverage on Channels of Seven Live in Australia. Live streaming is also on FloTrack.
The Nitro Athletics series will see a Usain Bolt led All-Stars taking on five other teams representing Australia, China, England, Japan and New Zealand.
Saturday’s opening competition of the series will be the first of three nights of track and field action, with the two other nights, which are also expected to generate non-stop entertainment in Melbourne, slated for February 9 and February 11.
Channel 7 Live TV broadcasting and online streaming coverage on Saturday will begin at 7:00 pm local time (3:00 am EST and 2:00 am CT).
Besides Usain Bolt, the inaugural Nitro Athletics series will feature several other Olympic Games and World Championships champions and medal winners, in addition to a number of global stars.
Among the highlighted names on the men’s side are former 100m world record holder Asafa Powell of Jamaica, fellow countryman and Olympic relay gold medallist Michael Frater, Olympic 400m hurdles champion Kerron Clement of USA and Australia World Indoor long jump champion Fabrice Lapierre.
On the women’s side, 2008 Beijing Olympic 400m gold medallist Christine Ohuruogu of Great Britain, Beijing 2008 100m hurdles champion Dawn Harper-Nelson of USA and American sprinter Jenna Prandini will lineup.
Several of the athletes skipped the early indoor season to be part of this new innovation and Ohuruogu is delighted that the organizers were “brave enough to step out of the box” and do something fun and different.
“I think it’s great,” Team England captain said. “You know hats off to you guys for being brave enough to step out of the box that athletics has found itself in for donkey’s years.
“It’s such a great idea and I was saying that I usually do Penn Relays in America and I love it because it’s competition and there’s a fun element and I honestly think it will be a success because the athletes are looking forward to it.
“If the athletes are happy and willing to participate and to take part and willing to put on a show it will be a good event.”
World record holder and triple Olympic 100m and 200m gold medallist Bolt agrees.
“This is the right move forward,” he said at the launch of the new competition last November.
“I’m going to be part of a team – 12 males, 12 females. It’s going to be very exciting.”
Ahead of the start of the series, Bolt added: “I think it’s going to be great it’s going to be like cricket, but Twenty20.
“I think personally it’s a great idea and that’s why I want to be a part of it and when John Steffensen came to me and said, listen we want to do this, I said, John, you know I’ve been saying this all my life.
“So I’m happy to be a part of it.”
