Usain Bolt expresses his feelings after meeting Brazilian legend Ronaldo [Image Source : Usain Bolt's Instagram]

"Elevated the Game to another level" - Olympic champion Usain Bolt makes his feelings known as he meets football player Ronaldo

Modified Dec 22, 2024 04:32 GMT

Olympic champion Usain Bolt recently met Brazilian soccer legend Ronaldo. The two players had a candid chat, and Bolt later expressed his admiration for the Brazilian great on social media.

Bolt uploaded a photograph on Instagram, where both the legends smiled for the camera. He also wrote in the caption,

"Elevated the Game to another level 🙌🏿"

Nicknamed 'O Fenomeno' [The Phenomenon], Ronaldo, also known as Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima, is one of the greatest modern-day soccer players to ever have graced the sport.

In his 17-year-long career, the Brazilian scored 62 goals in 98 appearances. He was one of the youngest members of the Brazilian squad when they won the FIFA World Cup in 1994. Ronaldo was also a part of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics bronze-winning squad.

Usain Bolt needs no specific introduction. The Jamaican sprinter had a rather unimpressive debut at the Athens Olympics in 2004, where he was eliminated in the preliminaries. However, once he broke the world record at the 100m event in the Beijing Olympics in 2008, there was no looking back.

In the next nine years, Bolt went on to prove himself as the greatest athlete to have run on the track ever.

Bolt speaks about losing his final individual race to Justin Gatlin and Christian Coleman

Usain Bolt and Justin Gatlin after the 100m finals at the World Athletics Championships 2017 [Image Source : Getty]

After having made his final Olympic appearance at the quadrennial event held in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, Usain Bolt was all set to make a final appearance on the track at the World Championships in 2017. However, his experience wasn't as great as his outing at Rio.

Bolt lost the 100m finals to the American duo of Justin Gatlin and Christian Coleman, who came first and second, respectively. Despite returning with just a bronze medal, Bolt had no regrets. He said in a post-event press conference,

"I lost the race to a great competitor. I came third to a young kid that's coming up.. He has a great talent and great future ahead of me."

In an interview with the 'High Performance' portal in November 2024, Bolt further explained why he couldn't focus on his final track events at the 2017 World Championships.

"That year I lost one of my very close friends to a motorcycle accident in April. And it really was with me for a while. And I didn’t train. I was sad, and it was just drinking and just trying to get past that moment because it was just sudden,” he said.

Though he retired in 2017, Usain Bolt continues to contribute to the cause of athletics through his philanthropic organization, 'The Usain Bolt Foundation'. Through this initiative, the sprinting legend wishes to create opportunities to transform the lives of children across Jamaica and enable them to pursue a flourishing career in sports if they want to.