Berlino, an anthropomorphic bear, was the mascot of the

2009 World Championships in Athletics The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () were held in Berlin, Germany from 15–23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenburg ...

and

2018 European Athletics Championships The 2018 European Athletics Championships were held in Berlin, Germany, from 6 to 12 August 2018. The championships were part of the first European Championships with other events happening in the United Kingdom. For the second Championships in ...

held in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, noted for his hyperactivity and celebrations with various athletes during the Championships.

Overview

Up until now, Berlino appears to be

mute Muteness is a speech disorder in which a person lacks the ability to speak. Mute or the Mute may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Mute'' (2005 film), a short film by Melissa Joan Hart * ''Mute'' (2018 film), a scien ...

. However, this condition does not seem to prevent him from giving interviews to the media. Berlino has been referred to as the "star" of the 2009 Championships and been noted by athletes, such as

Usain Bolt Usain St. Leo Bolt, , (; born 21 August 1986) is a retired Jamaican sprinter, widely considered to be the greatest sprinter of all time. He is the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, and 4 × 100 metres relay. An eight-ti ...

by wearing a T-shirt with "ICH BIN EIN BERLINO" ("I am a Berlino", referring to

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

's famous West Berlin speech) written on it during warm up for the

200 meter The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

final. The iconic image of the games is the famous photograph of Berlino and Usain Bolt down on one knee, twinned in mutual respect, sharing a mimed lightning-bolt pose to celebrate victory and a new world record. In an interview, published after the World Championships in Berlin, Usain Bolt said: "Berlino and I have become friends. We exchanged telephone numbers." While celebrating winning the gold in 400 meter hurdles,

Melaine Walker Melaine Walker O.D (born 1 March 1983) is a Jamaican 400 metres hurdler. She was born in Kingston. Walker is the former Olympic 400 m hurdles champion.Lewis, Richard (2009-08-20)For Walker, World record assault next item on the agenda?". ''I ...

took a piggy-back off Berlino, who promptly ran into a stack of hurdles. The diverse videos of this have been watched over 400,000 times (26.08.2009) and have been called "a

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

classic." He was also involved in some controversy during the men's 10,000m final in which he ran part of the race down the back straight with the athletes cheering them on. This annoyed some traditionalists and it was rumoured that the IAAF told him to reel in the enthusiasm after this act. Smaller versions of Berlino - Berlino teddies as well as Berlino key rings, both produced in China - were offered via Internet and in Berlin Tourist shops during the

in August 200

After being delivered in the beginning of August 2009, the Berlino teddies at first sold slow. Due to the increasing popularity of the mascot during the games, Berlino soon became a bestseller and - before the end of the games - was out of stock. Berlino later made a guest appearance at the UKA Aviva British Grand Prix, in Gateshead, on 31 August 2009, alongside the British mascot, Spike. Tournament officials refused to publicly disclose who played the part of Berlino. However, the Guardian Observer reported that it was 33-year-old Berlin actor Oliver Seiffert. In 2018 Berlino reappeared as the official mascot at the Berlin Olympic Stadium for the 24th European Athletics Championships being hosted in the city.

Notable incidents

* Racing

around the track after his new

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

.Lockeres Jogging mit Usain Bolt. - Fotostrecken - Mediacenter - Tagesspiegel
* Striking the lightning-bolt victory pose with Usain, both on one knee with one raised arm

* Presenting his undershirt with words: "Ich bin ein Bolt" after Usain Bolt presented his own T-shirt with "Ich bin ein Berlino" written on it

ttp://www.tagesspiegel.de/medien/fotos/cme21399,295939.html Der Weltrekordler Bolt zollte dem Maskottchen fast schon kennedyesk Respekt. - Fotostrecken - Mediacenter - Tagesspiegel* Picking up Polish athlete

Anna Rogowska Anna Rogowska (born 21 May 1981) is a retired Polish athlete who specialised in the pole vault. She became the World Champion in 2009 in Berlin. Career Born in Gdynia, she won the bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics, narrowly beating Monika Pyrek ...

and swinging her around after she clinched gold in the women's

pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the Myc ...

. * Leaping on top of javelin champion Steffi Nerius of Germany. * Being picked up by men's discus champion

Robert Harting Robert Harting (; born 18 October 1984) is a retired German discus thrower. He represents the sports club SCC Berlin, his coach is Torsten Schmidt. He is a former Olympic, World, and European champion in the men's discus throw. His younger bro ...

, who threw Berlino over his shoulders after winning gold
...und wirbelte es durch die Luft. - Fotostrecken - Mediacenter - Tagesspiegel
*

Racewalking Racewalking, or race walking, is a long-distance discipline within the sport of athletics. Although a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. Race judges carefully asse ...

under the Brandenburg Gate with the 50 km medalists. * Running down the

home straight {{about, the element of a track, , Straight (disambiguation) In many forms of racing, a straight or stretch is a part of the race track in which the competitors travel in a straight line for any significant time, as opposed to a bend or curve. The ...

alongside competing athletes in the men's

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The ra ...

. * Ripping his vest off

Harting Harting is a civil parish in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. It is situated on the northern flank of the South Downs, around southeast of Petersfield in Hampshire. It comprises the village of South Harting and the hamlets of ...

style, celebrating with the German

hammer throw The hammer throw is one of the four throwing events in regular track and field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and javelin. The "hammer" used in this sport is not like any of the tools also called by that name. It consist ...

er Betty Heidler after winning the silver meda

* Giving 400m hurdles champion

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

a piggy back ride, and while doing so crashing into a stack of hurdles. * Handkissing German

heptathlete A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek επτά (hepta, meaning "seven") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "competition"). A competitor in a hept ...

Jennifer Oeser after she had won the silver medal

* Being picked up by Polish hammer throw world champion Anita Włodarczyk.

References

External links

Official site

* ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6uLC-N8bX8 Video with diverse appearances of Berlino in Olympiastadion on "YouTube"
Video with antics of Berlino on "YouTube"

Video of Berlino´s run with Melaine Walker on "YouTube"

Video of Berlino running the 100 metres on "YouTube"

Video of Berlino´s visit in the BBC studio in Olympiastadion
{{Teddy bears 2009 World Championships in Athletics Sports mascots Bear mascots

Overview

Notable incidents

See also

References

External links