Usain Bolt on his way to the 100m world record in New York (© Getty Images)
Usain Bolt will compete at the Adidas Grand Prix in New York City for the first time since 2008 when he returns to the IAAF Diamond League meeting on 13 June.
It will be a homecoming of sorts for Bolt, who set his first world record in winning the 100m in 9.72 at Icahn Stadium on 31 May 2008. His 100m world record now stands at 9.58, while his 200m mark is 19.19. Bolt has competed in the United States only once since that night, when he anchored a Jamaican 4x100m team at the 2010 Penn Relays.
Since that electric night at Icahn Stadium seven years ago, the 28-year-old Jamaican has won six Olympic gold medals and eight World Championships titles, broken seven more world records, and become one of the most famous people on the planet.
“No one could ever forget their first world record, and I will never forget the crowd in New York that night,” said Bolt. “They had to wait for an hour during a thunderstorm delay before our race, and I don’t think a single person left the stadium. They deserved a great performance, and I’m glad I was able to give it to them. I’m looking forward to running in New York again.”
Already the first man to win six Olympic gold medals in sprinting (at 100m, 200m, and the 4x100m in both 2008 and 2012), Bolt hopes to add to that legacy at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. He recently announced his plans to retire after the 2017 IAAF World Championships in London.
One of the premier athletics events in the world, the Adidas Grand Prix has hosted two world records and 17 national records in its first 10 years, and its fans have had the privilege of witnessing more than a dozen US all-comers’ records. Bolt’s 2008 performance qualifies in all three categories.
The seventh stop on the international IAAF Diamond League circuit, the Adidas Grand Prix is in its 11th year at Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island.
Organisers for the IAAF
2015 IAAF Diamond League calendar
Doha, QAT – 15 May
Shanghai, CHN – 17 May
Eugene, USA – 30 May
Rome, ITA – 4 June
Birmingham, GBR – 7 June
Oslo, NOR – 11 June
New York, USA – 13 June
Paris, FRA – 4 July
Lausanne, SUI – 9 July
Monaco, MON – 17 July
London, GBR – 24-25 July
Stockholm, SWE – 30 July
Zurich, SUI – 3 September
Brussels, BEL – 11 September
