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BEIJING : Triple gold medal winner Usain Bolt put his celebrations on hold to visit victims of the devastating earthquake in Sichuan, urging survivors to use the Olympics as inspiration to look forward, not back.
The Jamaican, who set an unprecedented three world records in claiming gold in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay, said he hoped people from the quake-battered province would "get through the tragedy".
"We came here, tried to perform well. I hope people enjoy the Games, forget the past and move on," he said as he posed for pictures with victims on Saturday, including Huang Siyu, 13, who lost both her legs in the disaster.
"You have to move forward after the disaster. The Olympics ask people to move forward," added Bolt.
The 8.0-magnitude quake on May 12 in Sichuan left nearly 70,000 dead, and just under 18,000 people are still missing. At least 10 million people lost their homes.
Bolt said he watched the devastation unfold on television.
"I feel sorry for the victims so I asked my management team to do something," he told Xinhua news agency after handing over a cheque for 50,000 US dollars to the Red Cross.
"They are kids. They deserve a better future. I hope they can still enjoy themselves because they are still kids. I just want to help them. I'm looking forward to more people coming out and helping them."
- AFP/vm
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