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Sherwood Content delirious after Usain Bolt's exploits
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Sherwood Content delirious after Usain Bolt's exploits
BY PAUL A REID Observer writer reidp@jamaicaobserver.com
Friday, August 21, 2009
SHERWOOD CONTENT, Trelawny - Unlike last year's Olympic Games when Usain Bolt was breaking new grounds and taking his legion of family members and fans by surprise with his every victory, this year the only question, at least in the minds of some, was how fast he would run.
After lowering his 100m world record to 9.58 seconds on Sunday's second day of the IAAF World Championships in Berlin, many in the small farming community of Sherwood Content, from which Bolt hails, were taking bets as to how fast he would run in the 200m final yesterday.
Usain Bolt's aunt, Lillian Bolt-Smith (in yellow hat), neighours and friends cheer on her nephew and the community's world-famous son during the running of the Men's 200 metres final at the World Championships in Berlin, Germany, yesterday. (Photo: Paul Reid)
Despite protests over the lack of water in their pipes and several roadblocks that slowed traffic which snaked through the hills leading to the small community Trelawny, the prevailing mood yesterday was celebratory as the 200m final approached just after 1:30 pm local time.
Several family members, led by aunts Lillian Bolt-Smith and Annette Davis, jostled with journalists and other well-wishers, some from as far away as the United States, for space in Bolt-Smith's smal living room as the athletes lined up.
On the road to the family home, there were several pockets of people getting ready for the celebrations, and at one shop a young man was seen fine-tuning his sound system for what was expected to be a late night of celebrations.
Back at Bolt-Smith's home, there was a small cheer when Steve Mullings, the other Jamaican in the race, came on the screen and a big one when Bolt's father, Wellesley, was shown in the stands. But the loudest cheer was reserved for the man of the moment himself, and the small room felt ready to burst from the nervous energy being generated.
The noise rose with the crack of the starter's gun and did not relent until at least a full minute after the race was over and all that was left to confirm was the new world record of 19.19 seconds.
The celebrations spilled out into the yard and on the roads and Davis, Bolt's mother's sister who was by now hoarse from screaming, said she was "overwhelmed and at a loss for words to express my feelings right now".
Bolt-Smith, his aunt, had plenty to say. After a big laugh, the ebullient Bolt-Smith told reporters, "I feel on top of the world right now, it couldn't be better."
She said the margin of win was not ordinary. "It was donkey's length," she said while predicting that "there is no one on the planet who can beat him now".
Sherwood Content delirious after Usain Bolt's exploits
BY PAUL A REID Observer writer reidp@jamaicaobserver.com
Friday, August 21, 2009
SHERWOOD CONTENT, Trelawny - Unlike last year's Olympic Games when Usain Bolt was breaking new grounds and taking his legion of family members and fans by surprise with his every victory, this year the only question, at least in the minds of some, was how fast he would run.
After lowering his 100m world record to 9.58 seconds on Sunday's second day of the IAAF World Championships in Berlin, many in the small farming community of Sherwood Content, from which Bolt hails, were taking bets as to how fast he would run in the 200m final yesterday.
Usain Bolt's aunt, Lillian Bolt-Smith (in yellow hat), neighours and friends cheer on her nephew and the community's world-famous son during the running of the Men's 200 metres final at the World Championships in Berlin, Germany, yesterday. (Photo: Paul Reid)Despite protests over the lack of water in their pipes and several roadblocks that slowed traffic which snaked through the hills leading to the small community Trelawny, the prevailing mood yesterday was celebratory as the 200m final approached just after 1:30 pm local time.
Several family members, led by aunts Lillian Bolt-Smith and Annette Davis, jostled with journalists and other well-wishers, some from as far away as the United States, for space in Bolt-Smith's smal living room as the athletes lined up.
On the road to the family home, there were several pockets of people getting ready for the celebrations, and at one shop a young man was seen fine-tuning his sound system for what was expected to be a late night of celebrations.
Back at Bolt-Smith's home, there was a small cheer when Steve Mullings, the other Jamaican in the race, came on the screen and a big one when Bolt's father, Wellesley, was shown in the stands. But the loudest cheer was reserved for the man of the moment himself, and the small room felt ready to burst from the nervous energy being generated.
The noise rose with the crack of the starter's gun and did not relent until at least a full minute after the race was over and all that was left to confirm was the new world record of 19.19 seconds.
The celebrations spilled out into the yard and on the roads and Davis, Bolt's mother's sister who was by now hoarse from screaming, said she was "overwhelmed and at a loss for words to express my feelings right now".
Bolt-Smith, his aunt, had plenty to say. After a big laugh, the ebullient Bolt-Smith told reporters, "I feel on top of the world right now, it couldn't be better."
She said the margin of win was not ordinary. "It was donkey's length," she said while predicting that "there is no one on the planet who can beat him now".