Athletics great and eight-time Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt and his long-time girlfriend Kasi Bennett have welcomed their first child.
The Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness confirmed the news in a congratulatory tweet on Monday.
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Jamaica's Bolt, who holds world records in the 100m and 200m distance, confirmed Bennett was expecting a daughter in an Instagram video in March.
"Congratulations to our sprint legend Usain Bolt and Kasi Bennett on the arrival of their baby girl," Holness tweeted.
Fans of the Sprint King echoed the Jamaican PM's sentiment, flooding the new parents with messages of support on social media.
Congratulations to our sprint legend Usain Bolt (@usainbolt) and Kasi Bennett on the arrival of their baby girl! pic.twitter.com/bheXPgU7Qd
— Andrew Holness (@AndrewHolnessJM) May 18, 2020
Congrats to @usainbolt for the birth of his baby girl🙌🏾🇯🇲
— Shäkira (@_shakiraa1217) May 18, 2020
Baby Bolt! https://t.co/RaVfMhoGtH
— #TokyoOlympics (@NBCOlympics) May 18, 2020
@usainbolt congratulations on your new born baby girl
— Doreen Richards (@DoreenR87852551) May 18, 2020
Congrats to @kasi__b and @usainbolt on the arrival of their baby girl! #BabyBoltIsHere #Family 💕💞💓
— Shay-Dee (@ShayD_Ja) May 18, 2020
Congratulations on the birth of your baby girl @usainbolt 💐🎉💕💖 #MonateBreakfastShow
— 🌹🇮🇹Masechaba Rose Molefe🌹 (@Rose_Molefe) May 19, 2020
Sprint King has been preparing for parenthood for months
Bolt has been teasing fans over the birth of his baby girl for months, posting a series of photos and videos to his Instagram page.
In one such video, the world's fastest sprinter cradles a stuffed animal, before placing it into a stroller.
He then proceeds to dance-walk with the stroller around the apartment as his partner Kasi chuckles in the background.
Bolt, the only sprinter to win the 100m and 200m golds at three consecutive Olympics (2008, 2012 and 2016), had previously said he would advise his future children against following in his footsteps.
"That's going to be hard for my kid. If they want to do it, I'm fine with it. But initially I'm going to say don't do it, because I know the pressure that will come along with it," the 33-year-old said during the weekend of Super Bowl LIV in Miami.
The Jamaican legend first revealed he and Kasi were having a baby in January after posting a photo of his partner cradling her baby bump while wearing a stunning, flowing red dress.
Bolt captioned the image with the words: "I just want to say a KING or QUEEN is about to be HERE."
An 11-time world champion, Bolt retired after the 2017 world championships in London where he suffered a hamstring injury in the final race of his career.
Bolt and his partner are yet to reveal the name of their baby girl.
with AAP
