Paulton Gordon
The celebrations after Usain Bolt's victory continued way into the night. The Jamaica fans were reluctant to leave the venue and only started drifting after prompting from the dozens of blue suited security detail lined up in the concourse areas of the 'Bird's Nest' stadium. The action moved to the CWJ nightclub where people danced, sang and reflected on the moment of history.
Fast forward to Sunday when most Jamaican fans in Beijing overslept from exhaustion, and the emotional high of the 100m finals. Travelling fans were invited to a special function, by the Ministry of Tourism, to outline plans for sports tourism, including a loyalty card which allows visitors a chance to accumulate points when they visit.
Celebrity sprint race
Another initiative will be a special celebrity sprint race in the tourism belt which piggybacks on Jamaica's phenomenal record in track and field.
Clearly the women did not like all of the spotlight being shone on Usain and were craving for a piece of the action. They cruised through the semi-finals with only Sherone leaving us less than confident. The final was superb. Shelly-Ann was out like a bullet from a gun with Sherone and Kerron playing catch up. The rest is history. The result read: Shelly-Ann first, (new PB) while after a long deliberation they failed to separate the two other Jamaican girls who will both receive silver medals.
This was a once in a lifetime experience with the ladies sweeping the medal places in the 100m. It has never been done for this event in the history of the Olympics.
After the long and intense debates about the selection process, the ladies have repaid those who were resolute in supporting them in their quest to attain their Olympic dreams.
Jamaica's Usain Bolt celebrates winning the gold medal in the men's 100-metre final during the athletics competitions in the National Stadium at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Saturday. At left is Trinidad's Richard Thompson. - AP
Jennifer Bolt was spot on (almost)
An hour before the Saturday evening session started at the 'Bird's Nest' stadium, a group of six fans sat in the stands discussing the possible results of the 100m for men. A few minutes later, we were joined by Jennifer Bolt, Norman Peart and others. We acknowledged her presence and went through the formal introductions.
When fans from other countries realised that we were in the presence of the great man's mother, we all became instant celebrities. Posing for pictures and signing of autographs became the pasttime leading up to the start of the meet.
Jennifer's prediction
I took the opportunity to ask Jennifer Bolt what time she was expecting Usain to run in the finals. Without hesitation, she said '9.68'. This left a few of us gasping as, while it was felt that it was certainly possible, fans were thinking that to do it after three rounds would be totally awesome. The rest is history. Usain Bolt posted a time of 9.69, breaking his own world record and becoming the first Jamaican man to win the blue-ribbon event at an Olympic Games. It was mind-boggling to see 'lightning' Bolt shutting down his engines, looking around and raising his arms before the end of the race, and yet posting a new world record. It is clear that Bolt is special and is one of those that come along every 20 years.
Fans waiting
The 100m was the final event of the night, but the fans refused to leave the stadium as the venue was jampacked some 30 minutes after the end of the race. Everyone wanted to party, celebrate and sing along with the Jamaican fans. Songs such as 'One Love' and 'We are the Champions' could be heard bellowing from the pockets of fans who were ecstatic. It would appear that awareness of our presence in China increased 10 fold in less than 10 seconds. The singing and chanting continued outside of the stadium where we were joined by Miss China who incidental is the current Miss World. One member of the party was mistaken for Usain and we had to offer protection from persons who wanted to be captured on camera with him and to get autographs. This left the Jamaican group rolling over with laugher.
Eventually, the intensity died down and some members of the victory squad drifted off to a Jamaican nightclub to imbibe a few and to reflect on the night.
