Usain Bolt’s back on track . . . and facing a stern test

Usain Bolt will provide the showcase entertainment at tonight’s Golden Gala in Rome and organisers believe his presence has sold an extra 15,000 tickets.

It will be Bolt’s first European outing of the season and the Jamaican was given the all-clear to race, having injured his hamstring last month.

Bolt (above) has only managed 10.09sec in his one race this season and the Italian crowd will be hoping to see an improved performance in the Stadio Olimpico, where he set a venue record of 9.76sec last year.

“Usain grabs the attention of people who would not normally be fans,” said meeting director Luigi D’Onofrio.

“Having Usain Bolt at this meeting is a great investment. We anticipate around 45,000 spectators and, of those, we estimate that around 10,000 to 15,000 of those are people that would not be regular watchers of athletics.”

The six-time Olympic gold medallist will face a tough contest from American Justin Gatlin, who claimed bronze at London 2012 and is unbeaten so far this season.