Usain Bolt sets sights on sprinting to top of rich list

Usain Bolt has marketing men working on making him a global superstar to rival Beckham, Federer and Woods. Photograph: Paul Redding/Action Images

Usain Bolt is already the fastest man in the world and now he wants to become one of the richest. The triple Olympic gold medallist's management team are working on a marketing strategy to try to make him a global superstar with the kind of financial pulling power enjoyed by David Beckham and Tiger Woods.

Already several publishing houses are engaged in a bidding war for the 22-year-old Jamaican sprinter's story, which is expected to fetch a six-figure sum. A world tour is planned later this year and there are discussions on sponsorship deals worth more than £10m.

Norman Peart, Bolt's manager and mentor since he was 15, is clear about the earning potential. "Commercially we see no reason why he can't be as successful as Roger Federer, Tiger Woods or David Beckham. He has not only been blessed with an outstanding athletic ability, but also a great character."

Bolt's autobiography is expected to make a welcome change from the recent glut of bland memoirs from sports personalities. The Jamaican's personality is a huge part of his marketability his post-race celebrations and pre-race chicken nugget meals have endeared him to a global audience and the sprinter is promising a revelatory story.

"I feel I'm ready to talk about the things I haven't spoken about before," Bolt said, "how my life has changed since I left my village in Trelawny and my relationship [with girlfriend Mizicann Evans]. Far too often I hear people talking about the negative side of Jamaica the guns, gangs and stuff like that. But the reality is often quite different. I grew up in a relaxed small village with good parents."

Chris Nathaniel of NVA Management who secured seven-figure deals for the autobiographies of the England footballers John Terry and Rio Ferdinand is behind the book deal. He is also in talks with a number of high-profile brands including Virgin, Emirates, Rolex, Nokia, Vodafone and Gucci.

Nathaniel has claimed demand for the world's fastest man is "unbelievable", but with the World Championships little more than three weeks away Bolt's focus will need to remain on athletics. Once the competitive season is over, however, Bolt will embark on a promotional tour taking in three continents Africa, Asia, and Australia giving coaching sessions to youngsters.

Other marketing plans include high-profile parties playing dominoes in New York, Abu Dhabi and London, where Bolt will DJ for an elite guest list celebrities already invited include Bill Clinton, Cristiano Ronaldo, Jay Z and Will Smith.

A Manchester United fan, Bolt expressed envy and dismay this week at Ronaldo's £80m transfer to Real Madrid commenting: "I wish that was me because that's a lot of money." He may not have long to wait before he is raking in his own eye-popping contracts.

The Olympic triple jump silver medallist Phillips Idowu, meanwhile, says he is enjoying a more low-key profile ahead of this weekend's Aviva London grand prix after the expectation of last year, when he was tipped to win gold in Beijing. "A lot of the attention's been taken off me, Simeon [Williamson] is running well Jessica [Ennis] has come back so I can just sit back and get on with what I've been doing for the last nine years of my life. Train hard, jump well."