Usain Bolt will race in Australia this weekend

The greatest sprinter of all time will begin what is expected to be his final year of track this weekend.

Usain Bolt, who has eight gold medals to his name, is racing the first of three Nitro Athletics competitions in Melbourne, Australia on Saturday. “This will be track and field as it has never been seen before,” said Bolt of the unique structure of the competition. Nitro Athletics is a “new team-based competition that combines strength, endurance, power and extreme energy, set to revolutionize track and field.”

RELATED: Usain Bolt forced to give back 2008 Olympic gold medal.

The event begins at 7 p.m. local time, 3 a.m. EST, and finishes less than three hours later at 9:45 p.m. For fans, it will be one of the final times that Bolt hits the track as his sprinting days are numbered. He is expected to retire following the 2017 IAAF World Championships in London.

"Nitro is going to be serious comp but lots of fun with my teammates" – Bolt #NitroAthletics pic.twitter.com/kh9flZXUp2

— Nitro Athletics (@nitro_aths) February 3, 2017

Bolt, 30, is the only man in history to have won three consecutive Olympic gold medals in the 100m and 200m. He won an additional three golds in the men’s 4x100m relay but was forced to return one of the medals because a teammate, Nesta Carter, tested positive for a banned substance recently.

The Jamaican, a Puma athlete, has never raced in Australia. See details of the meet format below. Mixed-gender teams contribute points, based on placing, to an overall team score throughout the three events. There are team captains who decide how to deploy athletes depending on events. The exact details of who will be racing each event will not be known until race time.

Not surprisingly, Bolt will captain a team named Bolt’s All-Stars.

Meet format