Lifelong gamer Usain Bolt jumps into esports, Olympic record holder becomes co-owner of Wylde group
- Eight-time Olympic champion joins Dublin-based company and will be involved in ‘elevating its growing brand’
- Bolt has previously discussed his love of gaming and said Mario Kart helped him become a track star
Bolt, who holds the 100m and 200m world records, will be “involved in a range of activities focused on elevating Wylde’s growing brand”, the organisation said in a statement.
The company was founded two years ago by Steve Daly, a former investment banker at JP Morgan, and David Cronin, former president and CEO of the American Ireland Funds.
An 11-time world champion, Bolt, 35, retired after the 2017 World Championships in London where he suffered a hamstring injury in the final race of his career.
“I’ve been a gamer all my life and a proud member of the growing esports community,” Bolt, 35, said. “Wylde is on a journey to becoming one of the biggest brands in the fastest-growing sport in the world.”
Wylde already has esports teams competing in various video game tournaments, including Rocket League and Fifa. It plans to use Bolt’s star status to attract lucrative sponsorship deals.
Bolt told the BBC in December 2021 that he used to skip training to play video games when he was young, and that the desire to win online fuelled his competitiveness on the track.
“I feel like it, in a way, kind of helped out with the track and field, because now, when you get on the track, you have that same mentality as when you’re playing video games,” he said. “You just want to win.”
