Usain Bolt suffers major injury at charity game
Aug 18, 2016; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Usain Bolt (JAM) celebrates after winning the men’s 200m final in the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games at Estadio Olimpico Joao Havelange. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Track-and-field icon Usain Bolt has suffered a brutal blow this week.
Bolt revealed in a post to Instagram on Sunday that he ruptured his Achilles tendon while participating over the weekend in Soccer Aid, an annual soccer match held for charity in London, England. As he had done in years past, the sprinting legend was playing as a striker for the World XI team against the England XI. Bolt assisted on a goal by teammate Alessandro Del Piero in the first half but then went down in the second half with an injury and had to be stretchered off the pitch.
Usain Bolt is STRETCHERED OFF at Soccer Aid pic.twitter.com/M9JlIBLN2Z
— Mail Sport (@MailSport) June 9, 2024
On Sunday night, Bolt shared a photo of himself with crutches and a walking boot, revealing that he had torn his right Achilles.
“Ruptured Achilles but done know we a warrior,” Bolt wrote in his caption.
Bolt, who will turn 38 in August, is widely seen as the greatest sprinter ever. He has won eight Olympic gold medals and still holds the world records for fastest 100m time (9.58 seconds), fastest 200m time (19.30 seconds), and fastest 4x100m time (36.84 seconds with the Jamaican team).
The good news for Bolt is that he does not compete professionally any more, having retired after the 2017 World Championships. But a ruptured Achilles is still a significant injury that will take Bolt some time to recover from in his day-to-day life. It also comes just a day after a still-active professional sports star suffered an injury scare of his own in a charity game.