Usain Bolt may be the world's fastest man, but so far he hasn't sped to the $10 million annual income that his agent envisioned in 2008.

That year Bolt set records in the 100 meters (9.69 seconds), 200 (19.30) and 4-by-100 meter relay (37.10 seconds) at the Beijing Olympics. Afterward, his agent, Ricky Simms, touted Bolt as the first track-and-field star to potentially earn $10 million in combined appearance fees, prize money and endorsements in a year. It hasn't happened yet.

It is not for lack of trying. On July 16, the triple gold-holder and world champion blazed down the 100-meter track during the IAAF Paris Diamond League competition in 9.84 seconds. Fellow Jamaican Asafa Powell came in second at 9.91.

So can Bolt reach his financial goal? By the way, Simms is also a director of Pace Sports Management, in London, which represents mostly black track-and-field athletes only, and Bolt is the firm's top talent.

Let's run the numbers of Bolt's earning potential. He has an estimated $1.5 million deal with Puma, which is owned by Adidas; a sponsorship deal with Digicel Group Limited, a cell phone operator with 10 million customers in 32 Caribbean, Pacific and Central America markets; and an endorsement deal with Gatorade's G Series worth an unknown amount

As the hottest and best-known track star, he gets about $250,000 in appearance fees when he runs in major cities. To capitalize on that, the International Association of Athletics Federations, a marketing group for track-and-field athletes, created the Diamond League.

It showcases competitors in 14 events in 12 cities with lots of fans. These include Doha, Shanghai, Oslo, Rome, New York, Paris, Monaco (July 22), Stockholm (Aug. 6), London (Aug. 13) and Zurich (Aug. 19). The main attractions and money makers are Bolt and his key rivals, Asafa Powell and American Tyson Gay. Each will compete in seven Diamond events.

Bolt will make $1.75 million from the mandatory Diamond races, but he may not be in many others. He could sustain an injury, but more likely he will head to more lucrative events. The IAAF director of communications told The Wall Street Journal that the trio of elite runners will only go head-to-head three or four times. Bolt's absence, of course, hurts fellow Diamond athletes as fans turn out to see him run and win.

Bolt Is From a Small Island

The more races Bolt wins, the better. And when he breaks a world record, his value and attractiveness increases. But even so, his $10 million quest has problems. The biggest is that he is not an American, with all the jingoism, heat and paparazzi that status attracts. The Puma deal is also nice, but it ain't Nike money. Likewise, whatever Bolt makes from his Digicell endorsement, it is small change compared with what Verizon, AT&T or a natural endorser like Sprint could provide. The Gatorade deal is probably a good one, and he is featured in the ad.