Gold Coast 2018 organisers see a role for Bolt

LONDON (Reuters) - Jamaican sprint great Usain Bolt has already ruled out competing at next year's Commonwealth Games in Australia's Gold Coast but organisers are still hoping he will make an appearance of some sort.

(Reuters)

"He won't be competing, you all know that, but we are trying to get him to come in some capacity," Gold Coast organising committee chairman Peter Beattie told reporters on Wednesday.

"(GOLDOC chief executive) Mark (Peters) has met with the (athlete's) manager on a couple of occasions and we will continue those discussions.

"We will do everything we can to get Usain Bolt to the Gold Coast for this event."

The 30-year-old world record holder, who completed a "treble treble" of 100m, 200m and 4x100m Olympic titles at the 2016 Rio Games, said in February he had no plans to extend his career beyond this year's world championships in London.

The sport's great entertainer competed in Melbourne last month at the first Nitro Series meeting with a team of international "All-Stars".

Bolt is also contracted to bring his All-Stars to Australia for the next two years.

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Ed Osmond)