World and Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt could meet his match in Kenya tomorrow when he encounters a cheetah for the first time.
Speaking at a press conference here on his first trip to Africa, the fastest man on Earth still displayed his trademark cool, not least because he won’t race an adult cheetah — the fastest animal on earth — but simply adopt a cub.
“It has just sunk in — I am glad it wasn’t a lion,” he said with a chuckle. “The cheetah is much more calm ... even with a cameraman trying to take pictures. I am looking forward to holding the cheetah with my hands. It is going to be a wonderful experience.”
The triple Olympic and world sprint champion in both the 100m and 200m events arrived in the land of long-distance running on Friday for a four-day visit, ahead of the launch of an environmental charity campaign to preserve local ecosystems.
The track superstar, who is a member of the “Long Run” charity foundation, said he was looking forward to seeing the diverse wildlife species in Kenya but was scared of meeting the lions.
Bolt will act as an ambassador of the Zeitz Foundation and “The Long Run,” the initiative of a German businessman and chief executive of sportswear maker Puma, Jochen Zeitz, who has enlisted the services of the Jamaican and Welch former Olympic and world 110m hurdles record holder Colin Jackson.
“I was attracted to the initiative because of its objectives on the conservation of the environment and co-existence of different cultures,” Bolt said at a press conference.
“I will try to educate the younger kids coming up and they look up to me as a role model and do my best to spread the word on peaceful co-existence and safeguarding our environment. The Zeitz Foundation has a good vision and I want to do my part,” he said.
“I do a lot of charity work in Jamaica. But I would like to see first hand the challenges facing Africa in environment.”
Bolt said he planned to auction early next year the jersey he wore when he broke the world record at the world championships in Berlin, Germany, last August, with the proceeds going to the Zeitz Foundation.
Bolt is the world record holder in both the 100m and 200m events, in times of 9.58 seconds and 19.19 seconds respectively.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but