Usain Bolt to auction gold Nissan GT-R for charity

Gold Nissan GT-R to be Auctioned for Usain Bolt's Charity

The only thing Usain Bolt likes more than winning gold medals and scoffing chicken nuggets is driving fast cars. So it was hardly surprising when Nissan snapped up the Jamaican sprinter as a brand ambassador, made him 'Director of Excitement' and asked him to create a special one-off Gold GT-R.

The car, which will be auctioned for charity later this month, features faux-gold paintwork from bonnet to bumper and features Bolt's embossed signature. There's plenty of bling inside, too, thanks to interior fittings made of real gold. The colour scheme was chosen to match the hue of Bolt's considerable haul of medals, in case you hadn't spotted the link.

The gold GT-R will be auctioned later this month to benefit the Usain Bold Foundation. The proceeds will go towards helping the foundation's work creating opportunities for young people in Bolt's country of origin Jamaica.

If you're not rich or fortunate enough to secure the winning bid then fret not. Bolt is also busy working with Nissan product specialists on a limited-edition run of special GT-R models, which will go on sale across the globe. No further details have been confirmed as yet, but if it's not not finished in black, green and gold or tuned to be faster than the standard car we'll eat our rasta hats.

Toshiyuki Shiga, Chief Operating Officer, rolled out the obligatory quote, backing Bolt's contribution to the brand. "Nissan shares the spirit of excitement that captivated worldwide audiences at the Olympics,” he said. “There is no-one better qualified than Usain Bolt to help us translate that spirit into great experiences."

Bolt countered with: "Racing is my inspiration, and I want to help Nissan become an even more exciting brand for everyone."

Expect this partnership to continue for some time.

reproduce from this site

Usain Bolt Vows Not to Compete in Britain Until Tax Laws Change

Jamaican Track Star and Olympic Champion 2012
Usian Bolt

The most decorated track star Usain Bolt have sounded his objection against harsh taxes by Britain.  Usain Bolt's  management , stated that the triple gold medalist (London 2012) would not take part in track events within Britain until her Majesty changes those punitive Tax laws. Usain  was asked by the media in London, why he doesn't compete in the U.K. more often.  he stated"As soon as the law changes I'll be here all the time." 

Usian Bolt is Jamaican's first 100 meter men's gold medalist, Current World Recorded holder, Current Olympic champion and Olympic Record holder, 200 meter Olympic Gold medal champion and 4x100  relay Olympic Gold medalist as well, and as such racks in a hefty sum annually. 

The British government has granted an exemption to income linked to Olympic and Paralympic competition. But normally Britain takes a cut of an athlete's worldwide endorsement earnings—that means overseas sponsors in addition to those in the U.K.—proportional to the time spent in Britain. By comparison, the U.S. only taxes nonresident athletes on endorsement fees paid by American sponsors. France does the same.

So if in a given year Mr. Bolt ran in ten races, one of which was in Britain, Her Majesty's government could collect income tax on one-tenth of his total income from sponsorships. Mr. Bolt's contract with Puma alone is worth $9 million annually. After his winnings at the London Olympics Mr. Bolt is set to double his endorsement earnings.  Currently the 25-year-old is already the highest-paid Olympian - outside of basketball and tennis - which featured at this year Games with estimated earnings of 20.3 million over the past year, according to US business magazine Forbes in a report last month.

Mr. Bolt isn't the only star athlete with a knotty relationship with U.K. tax law. In 2006, tennis champion Andre Agassi lost a legal battle to avoid paying U.K. income tax on endorsement deals with overseas sponsors. Rafael Nadal excused himself from this year's Aegon Championships, the traditional warm-up to Wimbledon, on fiscal grounds: "I am playing in the U.K. and losing money. I did a lot more for the last four years, but it is more and more difficult to play in the U.K." Mr. Nadal competed in the Gerry Weber Open in Germany instead. 

Superstars like  Bolt, Messrs, and Nadal can tailor their professional schedules to maximize earnings without risking damage to their fame or competitive standing. So the best athletes stay out of U.K. competitions, the events have less popular appeal, fewer people attend, and the country forfeits both the economic activity and the tax revenue. The lesson is that taxes influence behavior, and punitive taxation hurts everyone.

Olympic Monitor: Thompson 7th , Usian Bolt Runs New Olympic Record

In one of the most electrifying race of all time, the 100 meter Finals at the London Olympics did not fail to feature the 'Top Guns'. Lineing up were Usian Bolt, Tyson Gay, Asapa Powell, Justing Gatling, Yohan Blake, Ryan Bailey, Churandy Martina and our very own Richard Thompson. However, Bolt outraced his opponents, winning in an Olympic-record 9.63 seconds crushing his own 9.68 set back in 2008 Beijing Games. Yohan Blake’s cupped silver in  9.75, while the United States sprinter Justin Gatlin grabbed bronze in  9.79.

Trinidad and Tobago's silver medalist 2008 Richard Thompson could only place 7th with a 9.98 in front of an "injured" Asafa Powell of Jamaica clocking 11.99.

There could be no stopping the King of track, Bolt emphatically confirmed his status, ans set his name above all as the greatest sprinter in history as he retained his Olympic 100m title in peerless fashion.

Making history again he now holds the three fastest times in the 100 meters. Bolt in an interview stated "I was happy when I went out in the first round, I felt I could do this. I was slightly worried about my start. I didn't want to false start again so I sat in the blocks a little bit.
"It wasn't the best reaction in the world but I executed it and that was the key. My coach said 'stop worrying about the start because the best part of your race is the end'. It worked.
"I said it on the track, people can talk, but when it comes to championships it is all about business for me and I brought it. It was wonderful. I knew [the crowd] would be like this, I can feel that energy and I am extremely happy."

Its seems that there is no stopping this superman. For Trinidad and Tobago its back to the drawing board. We salute our athletes for their enormous efforts and we join in the celebration of our Caribbean brothers.

All Hail the King of Track, Usian Lightening Bolt.