Athletics: Bolt won't carry on to Gold Coast

Usain Bolt reacts after competing in the Men's 200m Semifinals at Rio. Photo / Getty Images

The world's fastest man Usain Bolt has ruled out extending his storied athletics career to next year's Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

Bolt's retirement event is the world championships later this year in London, but there had been hopes he might have made the Games next April his swan song.

The Jamaican eight-time Olympic champion has ruled out that idea.

"To come out here next season, to really train as hard as I need to get to the level I need to win, it's not going to happen," he said.

Bolt is in Melbourne as the No.1 athlete competing at the inaugural Nitro athletics series from Saturday.

"It is going to be great, going to be something different. Like cricket and 20-20, it's going to be different," Bolt said before a gala dinner.

"I feel it will catch on - it's going to bring a lot of excitement to the sport.

"It is going to be something different, not going to be normal - a lot more exciting.

"I feel personally it is a great idea. This is why I am a part of it; this is why when John Steffensen came to me and said 'listen we want to do this' and I said 'John, I have been saying this all my life' so I was happy to be a part of it."

He will captain the Bolt All-Stars in the team-based event.

Asked how he would lead his world-class line-up, Bolt replied "like a boss - definitely as a winner.

"I am a winner so I will definitely try and instil that in my team, so I expect nothing but the best from them."

Bolt added track and field definitely needed the Nitro concept.

"It has been years in coming, that we need to do something," he said.

"After I saw them running road races (street athletics), I said 'this is good because you see people out there that, if it was in a stadium, you wouldn't have seen them; people just walking by wondering what's going on and wanting to come and see'.

"So to change the format now and do different things will bring excitement to track and field."

The star sprinter also said he was unlikely to compete in the long jump during the three-event Nitro series.

"I still have to get the okay from my coach yet. He's still not saying okay, but it is something I would love to do for my team," he said.