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Euphoria grips Blake's heartland of Bogue Hills
Euphoria grips Blake's heartland of Bogue Hills
BY PAUL A REID Observer writer reidp@jamaicaobserver.com
Monday, August 29, 2011
BOGUE, St James — Shirley Blake, Yohan's father did not sleep all of Saturday night and yesterday morning.
He stayed awake as he did not want to miss even a minute of his son's participation in the 13th IAAF World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, and so he stayed up until the semi-finals that were run at 4:30 am local time and then the final two hours and 15 minutes later.
Shirley Blake (left) hugs his wife Veta as they pose with daughters Thonalee, Samantha and Danielle, while granddaughter Sammoya Wright sits in front. (Photo: Paul Reid)
Shirley Blake (left) hugs his wife Veta as they pose with daughters Thonalee, Samantha and Danielle, while granddaughter Sammoya Wright sits in front. (Photo: Paul Reid) 1/1
Members of the Blake family were in an understandably happy mood yesterday afternoon when the Observer visited the family home in the cool Bogue Hills area that gave a panoramic view of the Montego Freeport spread below them.
Shirley, who was sweeping the yard as his wife Veta retuned from morning services at the Bogue Hill Baptist Church, gushed about his son 'Claude' as he is called in the family.
At first he said he was at a loss to express his feelings, but once he got started, the words flowed.
Veta was beside herself and told the Observer that "I am so proud of him, we are all proud of him".
"I was confident he would win a medal," Shirley said, agreeing with Veta that the gold was a surprise as they had expected him to win the silver behind teammate Usain Bolt.
Both said they "did not feel good at all" when Bolt was disqualified after a false start, but Shirley said his son stepped up to the plate and delivered. "Once Bolt was out we knew he was going to win," noted Shirley.
The young Blake, they said, is well liked and admired in the small, but close-knit community and said everyone had called or stopped by to give their well wishes.
Blake's exploits, Veta reported, was mentioned in the morning services as the pastor urged the youngsters to use his success as an example of what they can achieve.
She said that Yohan, the sixth of seven children in the marriage, attended the church and was baptised there.
Blake was last there they said for the Christmas and New Year's holidays when he got a break from training and travelling and calls on a regular basis, mostly on Sundays.
His sister Samantha said he called and texted as late as last week from South Korea as he prepared for the start of the championships.
Shirley, a father of 10 children, said cricket and not track and field was Yohan's first love as he had set his mind to play for the West Indies team.
So determined he was, Shirley said, that in the evenings after coming home from Anchovy Primary, he would clear a spot in he yard where he would set up a make shift cricket pitch and he would join his son at times.
His involvement in track and field was not evident until after the family had moved to Old Harbour.
The same community that produced Digicel Rising Star winner Brown Sugar looked set for a big celebration as Shirley hinted that he was yet to go visit his friends at the small town square near the old train lines, but said that should take place later in the day.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sport...#ixzz1WQKofJWC
BY PAUL A REID Observer writer reidp@jamaicaobserver.com
Monday, August 29, 2011
BOGUE, St James — Shirley Blake, Yohan's father did not sleep all of Saturday night and yesterday morning.
He stayed awake as he did not want to miss even a minute of his son's participation in the 13th IAAF World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, and so he stayed up until the semi-finals that were run at 4:30 am local time and then the final two hours and 15 minutes later.
Shirley Blake (left) hugs his wife Veta as they pose with daughters Thonalee, Samantha and Danielle, while granddaughter Sammoya Wright sits in front. (Photo: Paul Reid)
Shirley Blake (left) hugs his wife Veta as they pose with daughters Thonalee, Samantha and Danielle, while granddaughter Sammoya Wright sits in front. (Photo: Paul Reid) 1/1
Members of the Blake family were in an understandably happy mood yesterday afternoon when the Observer visited the family home in the cool Bogue Hills area that gave a panoramic view of the Montego Freeport spread below them.
Shirley, who was sweeping the yard as his wife Veta retuned from morning services at the Bogue Hill Baptist Church, gushed about his son 'Claude' as he is called in the family.
At first he said he was at a loss to express his feelings, but once he got started, the words flowed.
Veta was beside herself and told the Observer that "I am so proud of him, we are all proud of him".
"I was confident he would win a medal," Shirley said, agreeing with Veta that the gold was a surprise as they had expected him to win the silver behind teammate Usain Bolt.
Both said they "did not feel good at all" when Bolt was disqualified after a false start, but Shirley said his son stepped up to the plate and delivered. "Once Bolt was out we knew he was going to win," noted Shirley.
The young Blake, they said, is well liked and admired in the small, but close-knit community and said everyone had called or stopped by to give their well wishes.
Blake's exploits, Veta reported, was mentioned in the morning services as the pastor urged the youngsters to use his success as an example of what they can achieve.
She said that Yohan, the sixth of seven children in the marriage, attended the church and was baptised there.
Blake was last there they said for the Christmas and New Year's holidays when he got a break from training and travelling and calls on a regular basis, mostly on Sundays.
His sister Samantha said he called and texted as late as last week from South Korea as he prepared for the start of the championships.
Shirley, a father of 10 children, said cricket and not track and field was Yohan's first love as he had set his mind to play for the West Indies team.
So determined he was, Shirley said, that in the evenings after coming home from Anchovy Primary, he would clear a spot in he yard where he would set up a make shift cricket pitch and he would join his son at times.
His involvement in track and field was not evident until after the family had moved to Old Harbour.
The same community that produced Digicel Rising Star winner Brown Sugar looked set for a big celebration as Shirley hinted that he was yet to go visit his friends at the small town square near the old train lines, but said that should take place later in the day.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sport...#ixzz1WQKofJWC
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