Lots of big-name athletes saw their social media followings get big boosts during the recently concluded Summer Olympics. But Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, probably the Games’ biggest global star, one-upped everyone else in the digital realm, too, with the rapidly accelerating popularity of his new mobile game Bolt!.
The game broke the 1 million user mark the same day that Bolt, the athlete, anchored the Jamaican 4×100 relay team to a record-setting gold medal in London. Bolt!, the game [iTunes link], is now being downloaded once per second, according to John Shahidi, CEO of Rocklive, the company Bolt partnered with to produce the app, which was released in mid-July. Shahidi also says the new users are coming from all over, and the free game is among the top 3 most popular App Store offerings in 25 countries including England, France and Australia.
Bolt has gained more than 1 million Twitter followers since Bolt!‘s release and, according to Twitter, accounted for the Olympics’ two most tweeted moments — his victories in the 100 and 200 meter dashes. But with a mobile gaming offering as well, he’s already began to partially answer one of the main questions Olympic athletes face after gaining massive social followings thanks to the Games’ once-every-four-years-spotlight: Now what?
