Bolt on boat ride

Sprinting star, Usain Bolt showed off his sea-legs as he took a leisurely boat ride on Melbourne’s Yarra River with track runner Morgan Mitchell.

The nine-time Olympic champion, 30, was seen waving to onlookers from the speed boat and casually chatting to 22-year-old Mitchell, who displayed her toned stomach in a cropped top and grey exercise leggings.

After the boat ride, Mitchell and Bolt were seen posing for photos on the banks.

‘This will be track and field as it’s never been seen before and that’s why I’m involved, not only as a competitor, but also as a team captain,’ Bolt said at the official launch of Nitro Athletics.

The  series will include events including the 100m, 200m and long jump alongside other non-traditional disciplines such as a hurdles relay and a middle-distance relay.

‘‘For me this is the right move forward for our sport,’’ Bolt said.

‘With track and field, it’s an individual sport.

‘‘But here we can work together and every event will count.

‘‘I’m going to be the coach and I’m that sort of person who’s very competitive.’’

So competitive, in fact, he didn’t rule out having a crack at the long jump if required.

Nine-time Olympic champion Bolt – who won a historic third 100m, 200m and 4x100m golden treble in Rio – is set to pick up $1 million as the face of the series, which will be broadcast on the Seven Network.

Bolt has committed to remaining in the sport until the world championships in London in August.

Morgan Mitchell, who has often been compared with Australian icon Cathy Freeman, represented the country in the 400 metre at the Rio Olympics.

The 22-year old came in dead last in the semi-final, describing her performance as ‘disgusting’ after the race.

‘It’s my first Olympics, and if people want to compare me to Cathy [Freeman], they need to remember that in her first Olympics (when Freeman was 19-years-old) she got knocked out in the semi, too,’ she at the time.