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Bolt comes crashing down after 200m triumph – thanks to Segway
Jamaican sprinter storms to 200m victory but is brought back down to earth during lap of honour – video
Usain Bolt was brought crashing down to earth at the World Championships in Beijing – not by rival Justin Gatlin, but a rogue cameraman on a Segway, who ploughed into the back of the Jamaican during his lap of honour.
Bolt's brush with mortality came after he had eviscerated his rivals in the 200m final, winning gold in a time of 19.55 seconds – the fastest he has run since the London Olympics – and leaving Gatlin trailing in his wake as he jogged over the line in typically nonchalant style. Although the Jamaican took his foot off the accelerator at the end of the race he still finished 0.2 seconds in front of Gatlin.
Perhaps the Chinese TV cameraman trailing Bolt as he lapped up the applause after his victory should have taken a leaf out of the sprinter's book when he ran into difficulties. But instead of aplying the brakes, the hapless photographer simply drove into the back of an unsuspecting Bolt, who is not used to being overtaken.
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Both men and the Segway fell to the floor in the collision, and although Bolt bounced up with a grin on his face and later joked, "he tried to kill me, I don't know what was going on," the outcome could have been far less amusing for all concerned.
"The reality is that he could have been seriously injured," points out the Daily Telegraph.
While the Daily Mail points out that when the Segway ploughed into him, "Bolt's legs, surely the most prized in world sport, were taken from underneath him".
That was not the end of the drama during the lap of honour, as a fan then invaded the track and had to be bundled away by security.
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But none of the drama could detract from Bolt's earlier performance. He dominated from the outset and "had the beating of the American early," says the Telegraph, "running a wonderful bend to streak clear of the field.
"Ultimately, it was a statement to which Gatlin had no answer, as he succumbed to the type of late stumble that sank his 100m chances, losing form and technique as Bolt prevailed by almost two tenths."
