Usain Bolt mown down by cameraman after win
Usain Bolt has posted this year’s fastest half lap sprint, but his celebration was cut short by an out-of-control cameraman.
In the early hours of Friday morning (AEST), the Jamaican won gold in the 200 metres final at the Beijing world athletics championship with a time of 19.55 seconds.
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This is a much better Vine of the Usain Bolt accident – mainly due to the Italian commentator’s cry of “MAMMA MIA!” https://t.co/XPN9LonOQn
— Tara Mulholland (@tara_mulholland) August 27, 2015
As he swaggered along the track, soaking up the win, his precious legs were taken out from under him by a bumbling TV station employee on a self-propelled Segway scooter. Luckily, both seemed unhurt.
“The rumour I’m trying to start right now is that [silver medalist] Justin Gatlin paid him off,” Bolt told the media good-naturedly after the incident.
“It didn’t actually hit me in my Achilles, it hit me in my calf area.
“He tried to kill me – I don’t know what he was going on? It was like: ‘You are winning too much – take him out!'”
The crash was caused by the scooter’s left wheel striking a steel barrier, propelling it into the athlete. The cameraman was later seen shaking hands with Bolt.
The 200 metre gold medal was the Jamaican’s fourth straight victory in the event at the world championships.
American Justin Gatlin, who only recently returned from a second doping ban, took silver with a time of 19.74 seconds.