Bolt and Rudisha to run at Golden Gala meet in Rome

Jan 28, 2011, 20:55 GMT

Monte Carlo - Sprint superstar Usain Bolt will make his first appearance of the year on the big athletics stage at the May 26 Diamond League meet in Rome and will be joined there by middle distance sensation David Rudisha.

The ruling body IAAF said on Friday that the 100m, 200m and 4x100m world record holder, world and Olympic champion Bolt will run the 100m at the Golden Gala in Rome's Olympic stadium.

'I know that the Olympic stadium has a very fast track, as some of the best sprinters ran remarkable times there in the last 10 years. I hope to put my name on that list, hopefully somewhere on the top,' said the Jamaican Bolt.

Bolt's world record from the 2009 world championships in Berlin stands at 9.58 seconds. The best Rome time is 9.77 from his American rival Tyson Gay, also in 2009.

The Rome race will mark Bolt's European season debut as he aims to get in shape for the world championships in Daegu, South Korea. Bolt has also registered for the 200m at the Bislett Games Diamond League stop in Oslo on June 9.

Bolt reiterated that he has fully recovered from injury problems which only allowed him a limited 2010 campaign.

'I am fully recovered, after the injury I suffered the last summer, and the training has been going according to the plans of my coach. I am confident I will be able to get the best shape at the right time in the summer,' he said.

Rudisha took the athletics world by storm last year when he lowered the 800m world record twice to now 1:41.01 minutes - the current record coming at a meet in Rieti less than 100km north-east of Rome. He is the reigning World Athlete of the Year.

Organizers will hope that the presence of Bolt and Rudisha will boost attendance as recent Golden Gala editions have seen many empty seats in the vast arena.

'I'm looking forward to test the reaction of the Roman crowd, whose love for sports is well known worldwide ... I only want to say to the people in Italy: come to the Rome Olympic Stadium on 26 May, we will enjoy a great athletics party there,' said Bolt.