Usain Bolt Adopts a Cheetah (Yes, Really)

Some things just seem too incredible to be real, such as the guy who’s pledging to push the 100-meter mark to unthinkable lows adopting one of the world’s fastest animals. And yet, to the right of this text is a picture of Usain Bolt with his adopted cheetah.⇥Bolt, the world record holder at both 100m and 200m, told reporters at the weekend he was excited about his first meeting with a cheetah.⇥⇥⇥But the BBC’s Caroline Karobia in Nairobi says he appeared to be knocked out of his stride as he toured the Nairobi animal sanctuary - coming face-to-face with fully grown creatures.⇥⇥

⇥⇥“I am glad it wasn’t a lion - the cheetah is much more calm,” he said earlier.⇥⇥

Bolt, who is on a four-day trip to Kenya, gave the cheetah the name Lightning Bolt, which is almost as cool as owning a cheetah in the first place. And he says he wants to work with a German charity on a conservation campaign.

But, if I could break from the HOLY CATS USAIN BOLT HAS A CHEETAH for a second: Cheetahs aren’t the best animals to have in captivity, their struggles so poignant that they serve as the central metaphor for an essay on gifted education. So I’m hoping that Lightning Bolt is given room to run and do some of the things that cheetahs do naturally in the wild.

That way, the only conflict we’ll have to deal with here is whether Bolt adopting a cheetah is more cute or awesome.

Video after the jump, if you’re so inclined.

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