When the Berlin Wall came down, many people purchased chips of the structure as souvenirs. Usain Bolt, however, has a 12-foot high, nearly 3 ton section of the wall, presented to him by the then Governing Mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit, who said, “One can tear down walls that had been considered as insurmountable.”

The impressive and historic piece of masonry was bestowed on the Olympic athlete on the final day after winning the 4x100m relay at the 2009 World Athletics Championships. On the wall is a life-size painting of Bolt running on a blue track of the Olympic stadium, along with the words “NEW WR” in honor of the records he set in the 100m and 200m. The segment was delivered to the Jamaica Military Museum in Kingston, Jamaica.

American long jump champion, record holder, and Olympic medalist, Mike Powell, praised Bolt saying the sprinter could become the first man to jump over 9 meters and that the long jump would be “A perfect fit for his speed and height.”

Well-known around the globe for setting new world records, he earned the name “Lightning Bolt,” derived from a combination of his name and extreme speed. In 2016, Bolt voiced his desire to be a footballer during an interview. He trained with international champions and was offered a contract and played briefly, retiring from sports in Jan. 2019.

A man of many talents, Bolt is an avid fan of the “Call of Duty” video games, enjoys dancing, and played a reggae DJ set to fans in Paris. The world-class sprinter also has the spinal condition scoliosis.

Even though the condition resulted in his right leg being half an inch shorter than his left, he’s an eight time Olympic gold medalist, the only sprinter to win 100m and 200m titles at three consecutive Olympics, and is considered to be the greatest sprinter of all time.

Photo by 🇨🇭 Claudio Schwarz | @purzlbaum on Unsplash