London 2012 Olympics: Race on to lure superstar to Glasgow 2014

THE organisers of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014 have pledged to do everything they can to attract Usain Bolt to the city for the event.

The legendary Jamaican, who is aiming tonight to add a third gold medal in the relay to the two he won in the sprints, did not attend the last Commonwealth Games, in Delhi two years ago. But he is nowhere close to finalising his competitive schedule for 2014, and Glasgow 2014 are hopeful they can have him as a star attraction.

“There’s no question it would be exciting to see Usain Bolt compete in Glasgow in 2014,” David Grevemberg, chief executive of Glasgow 2014, said yesterday. “I’d love for him to be in Glasgow, because he’s a self-proclaimed legend and his performances at the Olympics have been unbelievable.

“It comes down to good scheduling and we’ve been in discussions with various international federations over the last two years to make sure we can attract the top talent to Glasgow. The European athletics and swimming championships, for example, have agreed to switch after the Commonwealth Games at the end of August 2014 so there is a bounce off our Games. Great competitors want to be around great competitions.

“Bolt is a powerful, powerful figure and there’s absolutely no question kids in Scotland would be inspired by his presence and those of other great Commonwealth athletes. Commonwealth athletes have won 123 medals across the Olympics so far.”

However, Grevemberg added that Glasgow 2014 would not try to rush into discussion with Bolt or his agents, believing that he should be allowed time to himself after the Olympic Games. And he added that there was no way in which Glasgow 2014 could go above the heads of any national federation, because team selection was a matter for each of them and individual athletes could not simply agree on their own to participate.

“We must also respect it’s up to the individual federations to choose their athletes on merit and form and their own pathway programmes. It’s also about the athletes. They have come through an incredibly pressurised time at the Olympics, and we’ve seen both relief and release in their faces that it’s finally over and they have achieved what they set out to do. We need to give them space at this time.”