Kasi Bennett: Usain Bolt’s Girlfriend Steps Into The Spotlight, Turns Into Instagram Star During His Olympic Run

Kasi Bennett may be known to the world as Usain Bolt’s girlfriend, but though the Jamaican fashion maven has mostly avoided the spotlight, she’s actually starting to grow quite the following for herself.

Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, who just won his ninth Olympic gold medal, has been linked to the 26-year-old brunette who comes from the town of Old Harbour, People magazine noted. The two have actually been quietly dating for the past two years, but it wasn’t until January that Bolt talked about his romance and not until April that the media took notice of the two making out. Bolt didn’t confirm their relationship until this week, Hollywood Life noted.

Though she has stayed on the sidelines for most of the last two years, Kasi Bennett has taken a big role in cheering on her boyfriend during the Rio Olympics. As Hollywood Life noted, she’s been quite the supportive girlfriend as Usain Bolt again dominated his competition on the track.

Even though Kasi isn’t in Rio watching her man from the stands, she’s been showering him with love throughout the entire Olympics run! From excited messages to retweets about his accomplishments, Kasi has proven that she’s there for her man every step of the way. And, obviously, she has a lot to be proud of!

Kasi never seemed to doubt that Usain Bolt would win gold again in Rio, as he did in London and Beijing.

“You know I’m never nervous,” she tweeted during the Games. “He always got it. All the work and talent – all him.”

But though Bennett’s on the big stage now, Usain Bolt explained that he had a reason for keeping his girlfriend mostly a secret until now. In an interview with Ian Boyne in January, Bolt said he was a bit nervous about putting Kasi Bennett through the scrutiny he knew would come from dating one of the world’s most famous athletes.

“I have explained to her that when it comes out, it’s not going to be as she thinks it’s going to be,” he said. “A lot of people will try to attack her, so I tell her to just take it easy and let’s make sure that you’re ready for this.”

“I don’t definitely hide, but we don’t try to put it out in the media like ‘Here she is,’ because I personally know what’s going to happen,” he continued.

Bolt went on to explain that he isn’t the type to date around, People magazine noted, saying he’s ultimately looking to settle down and have children — three, to be exact.

Though she and Usain Bolt have been quiet about their relationship, Kasi Bennett isn’t exactly a recluse. In fact, the fashion maven has close to 40,000 followers on Instagram, where she shares a number of what Yahoo Sport described as “figure-hugging outfits.” That number of followers has grown significantly during the Rio Olympics.

Bennett isn’t the only significant other to enter the spotlight during the 2016 Rio Olympics. With hundreds of hours of coverage for the games, many viewers are turning to the internet to learn more about the supportive girlfriends, wives, boyfriends, and husbands of the Olympic athletes they see on television.

That was the case for Nicole Johnson, the fiance of swimmer Michael Phelps who found herself highlighted on television and the subject of a number of news articles. There was also plenty of attention on the couple’s infant son, Boomer, who Phelps proudly showed off in a number of social media posts.

And after more than two years on the sidelines, Kasi Bennett appears to be embracing her moment in the spotlight. She may have another crack at it in four years, as well. Though Usain Bolt has officially said he plans to retire, many sports commentators including Chris Chase of Fox Sports believe that he’ll be back to race again in Tokyo in 2020.

[Image via Instagram]