"Lightning" Bolt donates for children in China's quake zone

Triple Olympic sprint gold medalist Jamaican Usain Bolt on Saturday made a personal donation of 50,000 U.S. dollars to children in the earthquake-stricken Sichuan Province, and wished people there to "get through from the tragedy" and move forward with the inspiration of the Olympic Games.

"We came here, tried to perform well," said the Jamaican, who claimed the gold medals in men's 100m and 200m sprint as well as the 4x100m relay at the Beijing Olympic Games. "I hope people enjoy the games, forget the past and move on."

"You have to move forward after the disaster. And also, the Olympics ask people to move forward," he added.

An 8.0-magnitude tremor hit the southwestern Chinese province and its neighboring regions on May 12, killing nearly 70,000 people and leaving some 18,000 others missing. At least 10 million people lost their homes to the disaster.

Bolt said that he had seen reports of the earthquake on TV for a long time. "It makes me feel sorry for the victims, so I ask my management team to do something," said Bolt in an exclusive interview with Xinhua, after delivering the cheque to Liu Xuanguo, secretary-general of the Red Cross Foundation of China.

Two children from Sichuan, confined to wheelchairs due to quake-inflicted injuries, presented their paintings to Bolt as gifts.

"They are kids. They deserve a better future," Bolt said, crouching between the wheelchairs. "I hope they can still enjoy themselves, because they are still kids. And, it's great for kids to live in joys. I just want to help them."

"I'm looking forward (to) more people coming out and helping them." Bolt said.

Weeks before the opening of the Beijing Games, Bolt had trained in Tianjin, a north China port city some 120 km from Beijing. He was given a painting there, which depicted Chinese soldiers rescuing kids from under the rubble.

"I still keep the painting, and will definitely bring it home," Bolt told Xinhua. "I really appreciate it."

Talking about the Olympic Games, Bolt said that he was welcome in China, and was moved by the Chinese people. He said he was moved to tears on the night of winning the 200m race, when more than 90,000 spectators in the National Stadium, or the Bird's Nest, sang "happy birthday" for him.

The Jamaican sprinter just turned 22 two days ago.

“受伤的孩子也许再也不能享受奔跑或者跳舞的乐趣，希望我的绵薄之力能带给他们帮助和欢笑。”在本届奥运会上连破三项世界纪录的牙买加“飞人”博尔特向中国红基会奔跑天使基金捐款5万美元，用于救治在汶川地震中因伤截肢的儿童。

昨天中午12点半，身高1.92米的博尔特和父母等人刚走进威斯汀大酒店内，数十名中外记者立即蜂拥而上对其采访拍照。博尔特上穿绿色T恤，下着深色长裤，一上台就向众人一一介绍自己的家人，脸上洋溢着幸福的笑容。

在本届奥运会上，博尔特不仅在男子100米、200米及4×100米接力上为牙买加队连添三枚金牌，同时打破了世界纪录。在为国争光感到骄傲的同时，博尔特也想用实际行动感谢北京人民的热情支持。通过牙买加旅游局局长，博尔特与“世界旅游大奖”的发起人GRAHAMCOOKE取得了联系，表示想捐款救助在汶川地震中因伤截肢的儿童。本周四，在GRAHAMCOOKE的帮助下，博尔特决定将5万美金捐给中国红基会奔跑天使基金，用于截肢儿童安装假肢的手术及治疗费用。博尔特说：“我为这些孩子感到难过。我这样做是希望表达我的一点心意，让这些遭遇不幸的孩子能够有更好的未来。他们还是孩子，他们应该生活在欢乐中，我希望可以帮助到他们。同时，我也希望更多的人可以站出来，帮助他们。”

在捐赠仪式的现场，博尔特将自己亲手签名的足球送给两名灾区小朋友，并与其合影留念，希望他们尽早康复。中国红十字基金会向博尔特颁发了捐赠荣誉证书，同时将寓意“连接、捆绑”的领带送给博尔特，希望两国友谊长存，有意与其继续合作。

据了解，这是红基会首次接受国际奥运冠军的捐款，也是北京奥运会期间，首笔来自本届冠军的善款。