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- Jan 30, 2008
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Lightning strikes Kibaki and Raila
Usain Bolt strikes his trademark pose before an amused President Mwai Kibaki at Harambee House on Monday
By AYUMBA AYODI
Nothing can best describe the historic moment when the fastest man on the planet finally met the fastest animal on earth.
Jamaica's multiple world record holder, Usain Bolt, wound up his four-day tour of Kenya with a most memorable day when he met with President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga before adopting a cub cheetah at the world's famous Animal Orphanage in Nairobi.
Bolt, on a tour courtesy of the Zeitz Foundation, arrived in Nairobi in the early hours of Monday from the Segera Ranch in Laikipia and headed straight to the president's offices at Harambee House for a meeting with Kibaki.
During the meeting, President Kibaki and the Jamaican champion discussed activities of the Zeitz Foundation which advocates for the sustainable use of the environment.
Conservation
Bolt, who is a global ambassador for sports of the Zeitz Foundation, has been in the country for the official launch of the foundation's programmes in Kenya and establishment of a conservation programme.
President Kibaki congratulated the athlete and encouraged him to make more visits to the country, saying he was an inspiration to the country's youth.
The Jamaican then headed for the Kenya Wildlife Services headquarters where he met with the Prime Minister who accompanied him to the launch of the KWS adoption programme called Namayiana, a maasai word for "blessed one."
Less tense moments
It was sheer delight as Bolt, who holds the 100 metres world record at 9.58 seconds and the 200 metres mark at 19.19 seconds on the track, encountered the cheetah that usually bolts at 112 kilometres per hour in the wild.
Perhaps the guided tour that Bolt took around the Kenya Wildlife Services headquarters somehow calmed down his nerves before the historic meeting with the cheetahs.
There were more appealing and less tense moments when the Jamaican superstar adopted a three-month-old cheetah that was subsequently named "Lightning Bolt" after the Jamaican star's track nickname.
"I am not afraid of animals any more," said Bolt as he cuddled Lighning Bolt who appreciated the gesture as it suckled mildly the bottled milk offer by the 23-year-old superstar.
To perhaps ward off the encounter with the cheetahs and perhaps the challenge they could pose to his track speed records, Bolt reckoned that his most memorable moment was his encounter with a bull elephant at the Segera Ranch in Laikipia on Sunday.
The Segera Ranch is owned by Zeitz who is also the chief executive of sportswear firm, Puma, Bolt's competition gear sponsors.
http://www.nation.co.ke/sports/athletics/-/1100/681132/-/sevwk6z/-/index.html