Key Takeaways
- Usain Bolt proposed to longtime girlfriend Kasi Bennett during his 40th birthday party at One Belmont in Kingston, Jamaica.
- The couple began dating in 2013 and share three children: daughter Olympia Lightning and twin sons Thunder and Saint Leo.
- The engagement fulfills Bolt’s long-stated hope to build a lasting relationship modeled after his parents’ marriage.
Usain Bolt celebrated his 40th birthday by putting a ring on his longest-running partnership. The Jamaican sprint legend proposed to longtime girlfriend Kasi Bennett during his birthday party at One Belmont in Kingston, Jamaica, on Friday, August 21.
According to People, Bolt dropped to one knee in front of the couple’s family and friends, wearing a beige checkered suit and holding a microphone as Bennett stood before him in a fitted gold dress with silver detailing. Photos captured Bennett embracing Bolt after he accepted her proposal, while another image offered a close-up of her reported 5-carat pear-shaped diamond engagement ring.
The engagement marks a new chapter for a couple whose relationship has spanned most of Bolt’s transition from Olympic phenomenon to retired athlete and father. Bolt and Bennett began dating in 2013 but kept their romance largely private until the 2016 Rio Olympics. They made their relationship Instagram official later that year with photos from a trip to Bora Bora.
Hours before the proposal, Bennett honored Bolt’s milestone birthday with a carousel documenting their life together, including family trips and footage of the couple with their children. “Happy 40th birthday to my person,” she wrote. “My love, my home, my forever. You are an incredible dad and truly the centre of our little world.”
She added, “Your legacy is extraordinary, but the man behind it will always be what makes me proudest.”
Bolt and Bennett share three children: 6-year-old daughter Olympia Lightning Bolt and 5-year-old twin sons Thunder Bolt and Saint Leo Bolt. Family life has remained a prominent part of Bolt’s public identity since he stepped away from competition following the 2017 World Championships.
His retirement closed a career that included eight Olympic gold medals and world records of 9.58 seconds in the 100 meters and 19.19 seconds in the 200 meters—marks that remain untouched more than 15 years later.
The proposal also reflects something Bolt said he wanted long before becoming engaged. Speaking about Bennett in 2016, he explained that he hoped to build a lasting relationship modeled after the marriage of his parents, Wellesley and Jennifer Bolt.
“She’s happy, I’m happy,” he said at the time. “I want to have what my parents have. I want to take my time to make sure everything is perfect.”
