The cameraman who sent Usain Bolt flying at the world athletics championships presented him with a red bracelet on Friday to apologise, after footage of the incident went viral. A red-faced Song Tao of China's CCTV placed the good-luck charm on Bolt's wrist by way of apology after he lost control of the electric scooter he was riding and clattered the Jamaican from behind.
Bolt, the six-times Olympic champion, escaped serious injury in the accident which happened as he celebrated sealing the world sprint double with an emphatic 200m win on Thursday. "The important thing is that he is okay. I'm fine and ready to get back to work," Song told the Guardian via a translator, before returning to his duties at the Bird's Nest stadium in Beijing.
The bizarre mishap is set to become an enduring image of the Beijing world championships after it trended on social media and featured prominently in TV news bulletins. CCTV 5, in a posting on its Twitter-style Weibo account, said the bracelet "will bring luck to Bolt" and "made the nest full of love", referring to the iconic venue for the 2008 Olympics.
Some Internet users remarked that the unlucky cameraman was the only man capable of taking down Bolt, who has won all but one world and Olympic individual sprint title since 2008. "The only guy in the world who can defeat Bolt," wrote a user with the handle "Sehun" on his Chinese Weibo account.