Jamaica's Usain Bolt and Berlin's Mayor Klaus Wowereit in front of a part of the Berlin Wall with a painting depicting Usain Bolt during the World Championships in Athletics in Berlin last Sunday. - File

He jumped over the Great Wall of China, one of the greatest wonders of the modern world, and conquered all in Beijing. In Berlin, located in Germany, the land of Hitler, the horrible mass murderer, the feat was no less illustrious for this fleet-footed son of Jamaica, the greatest athlete ever.

Yet, the euphoria had hardly died down when he was given a piece of the Berlin Wall as a gift. The headlines around the world glowed and gloated, and people were in greater awe of this athletic giant of a man.

Bloomerg.com said, "Usain Bolt added a piece of the Berlin Wall to his haul of world records and titles at the world track and field championships, which closed last night with the United States atop the medal standings - Bolt, who dominated the nine-day event by shattering his 100-metre and 200-metre marks and helping Jamaica win the sprint relay, received a 12-foot high section of the wall decorated with his image at a ceremony to honour his feats.

"I will never forget Berlin," Bolt said at the ceremony.

The Japan Times declared, "Usain Bolt was honoured by the city of Berlin by receiving an original segment of the Berlin Wall - nearly three tons of it. The Jamaican sprinter, who broke world records in winning gold medals in the 100 and 200 metres, was presented with the piece of wall at a small ceremony Sunday, the final day of the IAAF World Championships in Athletics."

world records and titles

"Add to his haul of world records and titles"?, "To honour his feat"? "Was honoured by the city of Berlin"? Since when is the Berlin Wall a symbol of honour? And he "will never forget Berlin"? Yet, what he has forgotten is what the Berlin Wall stood for.

The Japan Times continued, "The piece of the wall, which divided communist East Berlin from West Berlin between 1961 and 1989, is decorated with a life-size painting of Bolt running on the blue track of the Olympic stadium and the words 'NEW WR' - new world record."

Now, in honour of those who died trying to escape the oppression in East Berlin, and of those who were separated from their relatives and friends by this monumental wall of segregation, he should use his bolts of lightning and decimate it into oblivion, all three tons of it in less than 9.58 seconds.

It has absolutely no purpose among his achievements, unless to contaminate them.

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