BEIJING -- When the Beijing Olympic flame goes out and the medal tally freezes, it is more than the gold winners and the miracles they have created that the world will fondly remember.
Having won the hearts of billions of people worldwide with his astounding speed and triple Olympic golds, Jamaica's "Lightning" Bolt stirred the heartstrings of the Chinese on Saturday by donating $50,000 to the children in earthquake-stricken Sichuan Province.
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Liu Xuanguo (L front), vice general secretary of the Chinese Red Cross Foundation (CRCF), presents the certificate of donation to Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt (R front) during a donation ceremony in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 23, 2008. Usain Bolt, who won three gold medals in the men's 100m, men's 200m, and men's 4x100m relay competitions of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, donates US$50,000 through the CRCF to the children in the earthquake-hit areas of China on Saturday, and invites six earthquake-affected children to travel to Jamaica.[Xinhua]
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Usain Bolt said he wished people in the quake-battered province would "get through from the tragedy" and move forward with the inspiration of the Olympic Games.
"We came here, tried to perform well," he said at the Westin hotel in Beijing. "I hope people enjoy the Games, forget the past and move on."
"You have to move forward after the disaster. The Olympics ask people to move forward," said Bolt, who claimed gold medals in men's 100m and 200m sprint as well as the 4x100m relay at the Beijing Games.
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Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt (R) poses for photos with Huang Siyu (C), a girl from the earthquake-hit Yingxiu Town of southwest China's Sichuan Province, during a donation ceremony in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 23, 2008. [Xinhua]
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Pictures showing the smiley Jamaican with two wheelchair-bound girls from the quake-hit areas spread quickly in the Internet community shortly after they were published at xinhuanet.com. Many netizens put up postings to express their gratitude and admiration for the sprinter.
"Thank you, Lightning Bolt, we love you. We'll never forget your kindness," said a netizen named "Jinpi Huihuang", whose posting was soon followed by thousands of others.
"May you achieve the best result at every game," most of them said.
Less than four months after the 8.0-magnitude quake devastated Sichuan, people cannot brush aside their pains over the loss of lives and toppled homes there, despite all the frenzy and jubilation the Games have brought.
The quake of May 12 killed nearly 70,000 people, left 17,923 others missing and destroyed the homes of more than 10 million people.
Two weeks ago, nine-year-old Lin Hao surprised the world by walking beside basketball idol Yao Ming and leading the parade of the Chinese delegation at the Beijing Olympics opening. On Saturday, Lin found himself in the arms of Brazilian soccer legend Pele.
The little hero from the quake epicenter Wenchuan County, who had saved two his classmates from the debris, got a yellow jersey of the Brazilian football team with Pele's autograph on it.
Pele, born in October 1940, is in Beijing to represent his country that is applying to host the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. His original name is Edison Arantes do Nascimento.