Melissa Breen says Usain Bolt headlining the Nitro Athletics series is a massive coup for athletics in Australia but believes her funding snub will see her miss the tournament.
The event lauded as athletics' answer to Twenty20 cricket will bring together six teams consisting of 12 men and 12 women in Melbourne in February.
Canberra sprinter Melissa Breen.Credit:Getty Images
But Breen says it is "highly unlikely" she will come into consideration for the landmark event after her Athletics Australia funding was cut just over a year ago.
It means the potential clash between Australia's fastest woman and the world's fastest man may not come to fruition despite an attempt to push track and field sports into the spotlight.
"Obviously, I'm not a funded athlete and [for] Athletics Australia I'm not an asset worthy of investment, so I think it's extremely unlikely that I'll be competing to be honest," Breen said.
"The international team will obviously take up space, and in terms of track and field athletes in the country I'm not on their radar so it would be unlikely that I'd even be asked to be a part of it."
Bolt said the series was "the right move forward" for athletics with mixed-gender teams set to compete against each other for points across a range of events.
Whether she is there or not Breen believes Bolt's presence will shine a light on the Gold Coast's 2018 Commonwealth Games – an event the nine-type Olympic champion has not ruled out competing at.
"I think obviously having Bolt behind it is amazing," Breen said. "That he has committed to competing in Australia I think is going to be wonderful for the spectators. If you ask anyone in the general public anything about track and field, Usain Bolt gets brought up straight away.
"I think it's wonderful that he'll be competing in Australia, hopefully that gets everyone really interested in athletics in the country."
Breen broke Melinda Gainsford-Taylor's 20-year-old national record in the women's 100m with a time of 11.11 seconds in 2014 and recently returned to the track after a break following the Rio Olympic Games.
The 26-year-old has eyes on running even faster next year. "It's the time now that athletes can have a bit of down time as well as train and stay in one place, it's nice, I don't have to live out of a suitcase," Breen said.
Team and athlete announcements for the Nitro Athletics series will be made in the lead-up to the event.
Caden Helmers is a sports reporter for The Canberra Times