But arguably the highest-profile woman in Australian athletics, hurdler Michelle Jenneke, the sunny new face of the sport in Rio, has committed to be part of the series.

Melissa Breen was approached but refused to be part of the revolutionary athletics series that will feature Bolt running in Melbourne over three nights next February.

The move comes after Olympic and world champion hurdler Sally Pearson also turned down Nitro in favour of running overseas in her comeback from injury.

It means the two fastest Australian women sprinters have elected not to run in the innovative athletics event.

The teams-based Nitro series is a new concept in athletics meets and is intended as the high-energy Twenty20 style re-imagining of athletics. Bolt has committed to run in it every year for the next three years while Channel Seven will broadcast the meets.

The decision by two of the highest-profile female athletes not to be part of it is remarkable and disappointing.

Chairwoman of the Australian selection committee Tamsyn Manou said Breen felt wounded by her experiences with AA over a number of years and did not want to be part of the first running of Nitro. Breen lost her athlete funding after a disappointing run in Rio.

"In all honesty the women's sprinters are going to have to step up to the plate because our top two aren't there, so it is really tough. It would be really great to have Mel and Sally out there but they have got their reasons and I respect those reasons.

"I think Mel's main reasons are she is just a little bit disappointed with how things have played out in the past between her and the federation."

Manou said she sympathised with Breen after seeing how she was treated as an 18-year-old by the sport, but was nonetheless disappointed Breen had not seen that AA was now a different organisation and Nitro a different concept.

"I travelled with Mel in 2009 and I saw what happened to her and I have seen it happen year after year so her hurt runs deep and it is going to take a little while to get people like her to realise that some of us really, really genuinely care about her and just want to see her out there racing," Manou said.

"I understand reasons behind why she didn't perhaps compete as well as she would have liked in Rio and in championships beforehand because it is pretty harsh what happened to her as an 18-year-old and someone like Mel we have just got to hopefully look after her and make sure she comes back to the sport because she is the Australian record holder.

"We still have the best athlete in the world [Bolt] coming. I am disappointed Sal and Melissa will not be part of that because I think they would enjoy it and I think they know they would enjoy it, it's just that there's things that are happening behind the scenes that are out of my control but fingers crossed it takes off and we do it next year and we have them back on the track for next year."

Manou said she also contacted high-profile senior coach Nic Bideau about why his stable of talented runners had not initially nominated.

Some of Bideau's best runners, including Ryan Gregson, Genevieve La Caze, Eloise Wellings, Luke Mathews and Zoe Buckman, are now part of the large squad of 42 from which the eventual team of 24 will be picked. Some of those 40 athletes will also be chosen to top up the Bolt All Stars and teams from overseas.

Star Tasmanian schoolboy Jack Hale, who is beginning to transition to competing in open fields, has been picked in the 40 along with high-profile athletes such as Ella Nelson, Morgan Mitchell, Brooke Stratton and Jeff Riseley.

A captain will be chosen from among the final 24, with athletes such as world silver medallist long jumper Fabrice Lapierre, Nelson and javelin thrower Kathryn Mitchell among contenders.

Meanwhile, the Zatopek 10 will be staged on Thursday night at Lakeside Stadium. Olympians Wellings and Jess Trengove will run in the women's event at 8pm while the men's 10,000 metres with Brett Robinson and Patrick Tiernan is at 8.55pm.