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Sports / Athletics

Bolt enters space race in zero gravity sprint

Published: 13 Sep 2018 - 09:21 pm | Last Updated: 01 Nov 2021 - 08:21 am
This handout photo released by Mumm/Novespace on September 13, 2018 shows Jamaican retired sprinter Usain Bolt (C) gesturing in zero-gravity conditions in an aircraft on September 12, 2018 above Reims.  AFP  / Mumm/Novespace/Laurent Theillet

This handout photo released by Mumm/Novespace on September 13, 2018 shows Jamaican retired sprinter Usain Bolt (C) gesturing in zero-gravity conditions in an aircraft on September 12, 2018 above Reims. AFP / Mumm/Novespace/Laurent Theillet

AFP

Paris:  Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt was back on the starting line Thursday -- but found it a challenge to stay on his feet in zero gravity conditions aboard an aeroplane.

The 32-year-old briefly broke off from his pursuit of a professional football career with Australia's Central Coast Mariners to travel to France for the event.

Dressed in a spacesuit, Bolt was aboard a zero gravity Airbus as part of an event sponsored by a brand.

The plane performed a series of parabolas as Bolt and two other guests experienced a phase of weightlessness for 22 seconds, time for a race to be staged within the cabin.

The eight-time Olympic champion and 100m and 200m world record holder called time on his athletics career last year.