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NEW YORK. — World 100 and 200-metre record-holder Usain Bolt will compete in the New York Diamond League meet on June 13, the Jamaican star’s first race in the Big Apple since 2008, organisers announced on Wednesday. Bolt set his first world record in winning the 100 metres in 9,72 seconds at Icahn Stadium on May 31, 2008, and since then has won six Olympic gold medals, eight world championship titles and broken seven more world records.

“No one could ever forget their first world record, and I will never forget the crowd in New York that night,” Bolt said. “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.” The meeting will be part of Bolt’s preparations for the Jamaican championships in late June, the qualifying meet for this year’s world championships. Bolt, who owns the current 100m world record of 9,58 seconds and 200m world record of 19,19, has raced only once in the United States since his New York run, anchoring a Jamaican 4×100 relay at the 2010 Penn Relays.

Meanwhile, Nike have no plans to add Tyson Gay to their stable of athletes, the company said on Wednesday, after it agreed to a new sponsorship deal with another disgraced American sprinter, Justin Gatlin. — AFP.