France has honoured Jamaican sprint wonder Usain Bolt ahead of his outing in the 100 metres of the Diamond League Meeting AREVA here yesterday.
The World and Olympic champion was presented with a plaque with his footprint that will be placed next to that of French football star Zinedine Zidane in the mythical Stade de France, built to host the 1998 Football World Cup.
Though gearing up for his sternest test of the new season - a clash with compatriot Asafa Powell - Bolt still had football on his mind, especially with the recently concluded FIFA World Cup still in the air.
"It was definitively a good game. Spain deserved to win although I wish there were more goals," said the 23-year-old.
"Personally, I wanted The Netherlands to win, since almost nobody in Jamaica was supporting them and I decided to be with the minority."
Superstardom
Bolt exploded to superstardom in 2008 when he captured the sprint double at the Beijing Olympics in record times.
He returned to the spotlight last year in Berlin when he repeated his record-breaking feats at the World Championships, as he again captured both sprint titles in the German capital.
Despite his fame, Bolt said he remained humbled by his achievements and cognisant of the huge responsibility on his shoulders.
"I'm conscious there are always a lot of people watching me and I try to be a role model for them, I live my life right and do my best," said Bolt.
"I'm involved in many activities to raise funds for my foundation which is involved in education and development of hospital material. There are a lot of problems in Jamaica regarding violence, my government has to put effort into it and I definitively can help too."
The World and Olympic champion was presented with a plaque with his footprint that will be placed next to that of French football star Zinedine Zidane in the mythical Stade de France, built to host the 1998 Football World Cup.
Though gearing up for his sternest test of the new season - a clash with compatriot Asafa Powell - Bolt still had football on his mind, especially with the recently concluded FIFA World Cup still in the air.
"It was definitively a good game. Spain deserved to win although I wish there were more goals," said the 23-year-old.
"Personally, I wanted The Netherlands to win, since almost nobody in Jamaica was supporting them and I decided to be with the minority."
Superstardom
Bolt exploded to superstardom in 2008 when he captured the sprint double at the Beijing Olympics in record times.
He returned to the spotlight last year in Berlin when he repeated his record-breaking feats at the World Championships, as he again captured both sprint titles in the German capital.
Despite his fame, Bolt said he remained humbled by his achievements and cognisant of the huge responsibility on his shoulders.
"I'm conscious there are always a lot of people watching me and I try to be a role model for them, I live my life right and do my best," said Bolt.
"I'm involved in many activities to raise funds for my foundation which is involved in education and development of hospital material. There are a lot of problems in Jamaica regarding violence, my government has to put effort into it and I definitively can help too."
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