BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - KITTITIAN sprint icon Kim Collins is scheduled to line up against Olympic 100 and 200 metres champion Usain Bolt and other world renowned athletes in the July's Anniversary Games to be held at the Olympic stadium in London, the place where his Olympic dream ended prematurely.
Collins was sent home before running in London for going days without turning up at the Athletes Village and spending the time with his wife; an act that the St. Kitts and Nevis officials at the games deemed a breach of discipline.
"My story from London was well documented, and to have the opportunity a year on to run in the stadium is something that I'm really grateful for," Collins told the UK’s Independent newspaper.
Bolt heads a list of 10 London gold medalists who will compete over two days. It will be a Diamond League meeting amongst the shiny gathering and the event is expected to draw a sell-out crowd of 65,000 to sun themselves one last time in the fading glow of London 2012.
Bolt will collect an appearance fee of around $600 000 for his two appearances - totalling some 20 seconds of track time - in his first Diamond League appearance in that country for four years.
If it had not been for the one-off tax exemption granted Bolt and other international athletes in this year's budget, then the fastest man the world has seen would not have been returning to the capital.
"I'm looking forward to coming back to the UK, especially with it being a year since winning three gold medals in the Olympic Stadium," said Bolt. "The crowds were amazing at the Games. I haven't competed at the London Diamond League since 2009, but it has always been a great meet with lots of Jamaican support - it almost feels like running at home."
There will be 10 individual Olympic champions competing in 27 events over Friday evening and Saturday afternoon 9July 26-27), which will be followed by a Paralympic competition on the Sunday.
The full roll call includes 29 London medalists, 12 champions (there are a couple of relay winners) and four world-record holders. Bolt will run in the 100m, lining up against Kim Collins, a controversial absentee from London 2012, and as part of a Jamaican quartet in the 4x100m.
