The ancient Greeks held athletic games in the valley of Olympia every four years in honour of their greatest god, Zeus, ruler of Heaven and Earth. Zeus is usually depicted as a great bearded figure carrying, ironically, a thunderbolt.

Usain Bolt, we are sure, will make no claim to the powers of the gods of Greek mythology, and certainly not Zeus. But in the real world of men, Usain Bolt is worthy of the praises being showered upon him, not least in Jamaica.

For while he remains mortal - down to the Jamaican street dance, 'Nuh Linga', he performed in celebration in China yesterday, at the 29th modern Olympiad - Usain Bolt placed himself firmly in the pantheon of great athletes, past and present. In the 100 metres final, Bolt produced a blistering run, to win in 9.69 seconds, shattering his own world record.

Early celebration

That of itself was phenomenal, especially for a man who has only recently started doing this event. But the real magnificence was in how easy he made it all seem. He was throttling down perhaps 10 metres of the finish, already celebrating his victory.

Like the depictions of Zeus, at six feet five inches tall and well muscled, Usain Bolt is a big man. His speed is deceptive. With long, powerful strides, he mows away distance. On the evidence of yesterday's run, he is likely to be rewriting the record books for a long time.

Which brings us to something else about the 100 metres race and more broadly, Jamaica's performance at the Olympics. Yesterday's race, was, in a sense, bitter-sweet.

Six Caribbean competitors

First, it defies conventional wisdom that Jamaica, a small, middle-income developing country of perhaps two-and-a-half million people should have three athletes - Bolt, Asafa Powell, Michael Frater, who train at home with Jamaican coaches - in the final of the 100 metres. It is significant, too, that six of the competitors were from the Caribbean, with one of them, Trinidad and Tobago's Richard Thompson, finishing second to Bolt.

The bitterness in so far as Jamaica is concerned, was the fifth-place showing of Powell, until recently, the world record holder over the distance. With Bolt, he was a pre-race favourite. Jamaica was expected to take the top two spots. Powell could give no plausible phy-sical explanation for his performance on the day.

Interventions

This explosive runner is of undoubted talent. But up to now, he appears unable to produce his best performance on the biggest occasion. Perhaps Asafa Powell is deserving of interventions outside the competence of his coach, Steven Francis.

Usain Bolt's record-breaking run, many expect, was the delivery of the first of several medals Jamaica should win in Beijing. Indeed, Bolt is likely to win the 200 metres race and there are grand possibilities in the women's 100 and 200 metres events as well as relays - the 4x100 and 4x400 metres for both men and women.

Most of the athletes who will perform train and are coached at home, and those who are not, had the greater part of their development in Jamaica. The broader issue for the society is to find ways to translate our obvious excellence to other areas.

The name of Bolt's celebratory dance translates to English as 'I'm not lingering' - a worthy message.

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