Sports fans love to talk about their GOATs. But when it comes to track and field, the top dog is pretty settled at. After all, who else has eight Olympic golds, holds the record for the Fastest Man on the Planet, and has every conceivable record to his name? Now, it’s not hard to guess his name. He is Usain Bolt. But there is one new race ongoing that even The Lightning Bolt can’t outrun. The race we are talking about is one that is political in nature, as the sppeedster has found himself in Jamaica’s biggest financial fraud scandal. But how did Jamaica’s pride and joy get flung in these dirty waters of greed?

Well, it all dates back to 2023, when Bolt lost a staggering $12.8 million from his retirement fund. Since then, he and his attorney have tried every means possible to recover the lost fortune. Yet justice remains out of reach. But as if things weren’t already bad, now Bolt finds himself stuck in a system that seems to be running opposite. Instead of focusing on his unresolved case, his battle is now being overshadowed by political agendas.

The President of the Senate, Tom Tavares-Finson, didn’t hold back as he condemned former Prime Minister PJ Patterson and the People’s National Party for dragging Bolt into their political discourse. In an audio statement shared by the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) on X, Tavares-Finson slammed the move as nothing more than a desperate attempt to score political points. “Patterson and the PNP’s inappropriate move to name-drop Usain Bolt in their misleading political rhetoric is unfortunate and betrays their increasingly callous desperation,” he stated.

But it’s not just about politics but also respect. For a man who has carried Jamaica’s flag with pride on the world stage, having his name tossed around in a political battle feels like an insult. “Usain deserves better than having his name used in a vulgar manner for political gain,” Finson added. And he’s not alone in that sentiment. Many believe Bolt’s case should remain what it is.

A fight for financial justice, not a pawn in a political blame game. For Bolt, resilience has never been a choice. It’s been a necessity. Long before he became a global icon, he was just a 17-year-old battling scoliosis. A condition that curved his spine but never his determination. Yet now, he struggles with something that he thought he had long left behind. Financial struggles.

Bolt’s trust wears thin with growing frustration

Usain Bolt maintained his track record as a dominant competitor through his years on the field. But now he is struggling against the same system that was supposed to protect him off the track. It has been more than two years since he learned about his stolen millions. But justice continues to elude him entirely. Each day brings nothing but rising frustration while Bolt’s tolerance steadily decreases.

After initially placing his trust in the authorities, Bolt is now speaking out. He is making it clear that his faith in the system is fading fast. The sprint legend had hoped that the government, financial institutions, and legal channels would act swiftly. But time has only deepened his disappointment. “It’s been two years, and we have not heard much, really, you know?” he shared, voicing his growing disillusionment. Despite repeated reassurances, progress has been nonexistent.

“We leave it up to them, but that team says, ‘Yo, we start to do something.’ Two years now, and we know we are not getting positive feedback from anything, from nobody,” he admitted. The sheer scale of the fraud had already rocked public confidence. But seeing a national hero struggle to recover his own money has only intensified outrage.

One of the most telling came in October 2023 when he posted on X. He didn’t say much and simply wrote, “Broken words, not broken records [watch emoji].” These words were seen to some people as word games, but others observed them as signs of his deteriorating situation. For those monitoring his situation, it was obvious that Bolt, who made his mark by breaking records, now witnessed his dreams crumbling before him. He revealed his feelings publicly on more than one occasion.