By John Jones

Copyright walesonline

The 2025 World Athletics Championships reaches its conclusion on Sunday, with some of the greatest athletes on the planet leaving Tokyo with their heads held high and medals around their necks. Over the last week, world records have been set and new superstars have emerged, with 24-year-old Oblique Seville ushering in a new era for Jamaican sprinting by winning the men’s 100m crown ahead of compatriot Kishane Thompson and dethroned champion Noah Lyles of the United States on the opening weekend. It was an emotional moment and one that was witnessed by none other than Usain Bolt, who was ecstatic as he celebrated Seville’s victory in the crowd, eight years after he brought the curtain down on his own glittering career at the World Championships. The eight-time OIympic gold medallist is the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres and 4 x 100 metres relay events and is widely regarded as the greatest sprinter of all time. He achieved worldwide fame after smashing two world records at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, while his fun-loving personality saw him become adored by fans across the globe throughout his career. It all ended in unfortunate fashion, however, as Bolt’s planned farewell at the 2017 World Championships in London ended with him hobbling over the line after pulling up with 50 metres to go, having suffered a hamstring injury. Since that day, he has been navigating retired life, which has thrown up an interesting second career prospect as well as a surprise fitness issue. Here’s what you need to know. Months before bowing out from the world of athletics, Bolt revealed that he wanted to try to become a professional footballer, with his heart set on playing for his favourite club, Manchester United. Shortly after his retirement from track and field, he got to work, as he began training with Norwegian side Stromsgodset. He went on to play for the club as a forward in a friendly match against Norway U19s, before leaving for the other side of the world and starting training with Australian side Central Coast Mariners. Just a few days into his spell with the A-League club, Bolt made his friendly debut against a Central Coast Select team, before starting in a friendly against another amateur side, scoring two goals. Later in 2018, he was offered a two-year contract by Maltese club Valletta, but turned it down before signing a deal with the Mariners, which was partly funded by the Australian FA. However, his time Down Under was short-lived, as he left the club after just eight weeks there. At the start of 2019, Bolt announced that he had decided against pursuing a career in football, saying it was “fun while it lasted”. In an interview with Reuters, he confirmed plans to focus on his business endeavours, explaining: “I don’t want to say it wasn’t dealt with properly, but I think we went about it, not the way we should and you learn your lesson, you live and you learn “It was a good experience. I really enjoyed just being in a team and it was must different from track and field and it was fun while it lasted. I’m just doing many different things … the sports life is over, so I’m now moving into different businesses, I have a lot of things in the pipeline, so as I say, I’m just dabbling in everything and trying to be a business man now.” However, Bolt still achieved his dream of playing football at Old Trafford, captaining the World XI team at the iconic ground in the first of several Soccer Aid appearances. Unfortunately, he couldn’t escape injury on the football pitch either as he suffered a ruptured Achilles in last year’s match and had to be stretchered off. These days, Bolt is a stay-at-home dad to the three children he has welcomed with his long-term partner Kasi Bennett, who he has been in a relationship with for over a decade. While she was a sprinter in her youth, Bennett is a model, philanthropist and social media personality, with over 400,000 followers on Instagram, while she is also the the managing director of Jamaican business and marketing development agency, Elevate Marketing House. The couple began dating in 2013 and were confirmed to be official three years later, with Bolt and Bennett welcoming their first child, Olympia Lightning in 2020. They have since grown their family by welcoming twin sons Thunder and Saint-Leo in June 2021. Eight years after retiring from track and field, Bolt has now settled into the stay-at-home dad routine, telling The Telegraph that, other than some brand ambassadorial work, he is fully focused on his kids. “Normally, I wake up just in time to see the kids off to school , and then it depends on what I have to do,” he said. “If I have nothing to do, I just chill out. I might work out sometimes if I’m in a good mood. I just watch some series and chill until the kids come home. “I spend some time with them, hang out, until they start annoying me. Then I leave. Afterwards, I just stay at home and watch movies or I’m into Lego now. So I do Lego.” Bolt was recently described as “the ultimate provider” by Bennett in a gushing social media post on his birthday, as she wrote: “Another year around the sun with my forever partner in fun and happiness! You are the light in every room and a constant joy to everyone who has had the pleasure of knowing you. “The most stand up family man, protector and the ultimate provider. You shower us with unconditional love and we celebrate you this and every day. It’s my man, my man, my man, FOREVER. Love you baby.” As one of the greatest athletes of all time, there were few people on earth in better physical condition than Bolt at the peak of his career – but he has admitted his athleticism has started to slip during his retirement. In his interview with the Telegraph, he made the incredible admission that he is “not a fan” of running, but would have to take it up again after feeling the effects of life away from the track. “I’m not a fan, but I think now that I’ve been out for a while, I have to actually start running because when I walk upstairs I get out of breath,” he told the publication. “I mostly do gym workouts. I think when I start working out fully again, I probably have to do some laps just to get my breathing right.”