Usain Bolt's celebrations after completing a world championship sprint double came to a painful halt on Thursday after he was knocked over by a cameraman on an electric scooter.
The bizarre accident happened when the cameraman strayed too close to a barefoot Bolt as he posed for photos following his gold medal run in the 200 metres in Beijing.
The local television journalist bumped into a fixed railing and went flying off backwards, shooting the scooter into Bolt's legs from behind and sending the Jamaican crashing to the ground.
Bolt climbed gingerly to his feet to complete his lap of honour.
"He took me out," said the Jamaican after videos of his mishap quickly went viral. "The rumour I'm trying to start right now is that Justin Gatlin paid him off, so that's what I'm going with. But I'm all right so it's all good."
Bolt's American rival quickly shot back: "I want my money back, he didn't complete the job!"
Lucky to escape with only his pride hurt, Bolt pondered getting his legs insured in case of future bumps and scrapes after winning his fourth consecutive world title in the 200m.
"I probably should get my legs insured," smiled the six-times Olympic champion. "It was pretty scary when it happened but accidents happen.
"I have a few cuts but it's nothing that I've never done to myself in training so I'll be all right," added Bolt. "He didn't hit me in my ankles, he hit my in my calf area so I'll get over it."
Bolt, winner of an astonishing 11 of the last 12 individual world and Olympic sprint titles since he shot to fame at the 2008 Beijing Games, revealed that the red-faced cameraman had apologised for mowing down the biggest name in athletics.
"He said sorry as much as he could," said Bolt with a chuckle. "But I checked to make sure if he was okay because I think he got the worst of it. He was off-balance going backwards and I'm not sure if he hit his head but I'm just happy that he's okay. I'm fine so it's all fun."
In the chaos that followed the final, Bolt also lost his spikes to a spectator who ran away with them.
"When I jumped over the fence I gave a guy who was calling me my spikes to hold," he said. "When I did my interview I looked around and he was gone, he was just running."
AFP
Sun Aug 30 2015
Jamaica's Usain Bolt recovers after getting knocked down by a television cameraman. - AFP Photo
6 kereta, tiga rumah terjejas dalam kejadian pokok tumbang di KL
Hujan lebat di sekitar kawasan Kuala Lumpur pada petang Khamis menyebabkan beberapa pokok tumbang dan menghempap kenderaan orang awam.
Jabatan Bomba dan Penyelamat Kuala Lumpur menerusi kenyataan berkata, pihaknya menerima lapan laporan pokok tumbang di beberapa kawasan termasuk di Bukit Jalil, Sri Petaling dan Taman Salak Selatan.
Jabatan Bomba dan Penyelamat Kuala Lumpur menerusi kenyataan berkata, pihaknya menerima lapan laporan pokok tumbang di beberapa kawasan termasuk di Bukit Jalil, Sri Petaling dan Taman Salak Selatan.
Tabung Pembangunan Ehsan Selangor-Gaza dilancar
Sultan Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah pada Khamis berkenan melancarkan Tabung Pembangunan Ehsan Selangor-Gaza, iaitu antara inisiatif kerajaan Selangor bagi membangunkan semula wilayah Gaza di Palestin.
Baginda menerusi kenyataan bertitah Pembangunan Ehsan Selangor-Gaza, yang dijalankan dengan kerjasama Majlis Perundingan Pertubuhan Islam Malaysia (MAPIM), melibatkan tiga projek pembangunan di atas tanah wakaf di Gaza, yang memerlukan dana berjumlah RM8.7 juta.
Baginda menerusi kenyataan bertitah Pembangunan Ehsan Selangor-Gaza, yang dijalankan dengan kerjasama Majlis Perundingan Pertubuhan Islam Malaysia (MAPIM), melibatkan tiga projek pembangunan di atas tanah wakaf di Gaza, yang memerlukan dana berjumlah RM8.7 juta.
Tol percuma pada 8 dan 9 April sempena Aidilfitri - Nanta
Kerajaan bersetuju memberikan kemudahan tol percuma selama dua hari pada 8 dan 9 April kepada semua pengguna lebuh raya bagi kenderaan kelas 1 (persendirian) yang akan pulang ke kampung halaman sempena Aidilfitri tahun ini.
PM Anwar beri bayangan tiada cuti tambahan sempena sambutan Aidilfitri
Perdana Menteri memberi bayangan tiada cuti tambahan diberikan menjelang sambutan Hari Raya Aidilfitri April depan. Jelas Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, semua rakyat perlu mempunyai semangat untuk bekerja.
Jalan TAR meriah namun ramai jalan berlenggang, tangan kosong
Majoriti daripada pelanggan jalan berlenggang, tangan tidak langsung membawa beg plastik, kebanyakannya hanya cuci-cuci mata, atau bahasa lainnya ‘window shopping’.
Tumpuan Jumaat - 29 Mac 2024
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan di Astro AWANI.
10 Berita Pilihan - (28 Mac 2024)
Antara pelbagai berita dalam dan luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
Berita tempatan pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Berikut adalah berita yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang Khamis, 28 Mac 2024.
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah antara yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
Hampir 10,000 sertai Majlis Iftar MADANI bersama PM sempena Nuzul al-Quran
Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim hari ini meluangkan masa berbuka puasa bersama hampir 10,000 orang bersempena cuti Nuzul al-Quran di Dataran Putra di sini.