Bolt statue to be unveiled on Heroes weekend
Bolt statue to be unveiled on Heroes’ weekend
SPORT MINISTER Olivia Grange has said that the statue commissioned to honour sprint legend Usain Bolt will be officially unveiled on Heroes’ weekend.
Grange said that it will be placed at Statue Park at the National Stadium in Kingston, but there are plans to place a replica of the sculpture at another location. While Grange said this will be in western Jamaica, she declined to give specific details where, but said an announcement on that will be made at a later date.
“Traditionally, when we celebrate the athletes’ achievements, we usually, over the last few years, plan the event for Heritage Week,” the minister said. “Of course, in consultation with Usain Bolt’s management, we came to the understanding that he will be available for that weekend, because there’s the run (Jamaica National Foundation 4K and 10K Walk/Run event) on the Sunday (October 15), and we’ll do the unveiling on the Friday.”
Grange had previously said at the launch of the Jamaica National Racers Grand Prix on March 17 this year, that the statue would have been mounted to match Bolt’s final IAAF World Championships in London England, which took place earlier this month.
“We are on schedule to complete this statue by Independence and to have the mounting coincide with Bolt’s final World Championships in London,” Grange said at the time.
DENIED CHANGING DATE
However, when asked by The Gleaner to explain the reason for the delay, her response was: “We never said it was going to be unveiled in August. We said it would be completed and ready in August, but we did not announce the date that it will be unveiled.”
Grange said that the statue, which was done by Jamaican sculptor Basil Watson, is one of the legacy projects for the 55th anniversary of Jamaica’s Independence.
“We are in the process of establishing a partnership with Usain Bolt’s team to leverage his success and to work with him to ensure that his legacy lives on. So we are working on tangible projects that will be a lasting tribute to Usain Bolt,” she said.
THIS YEAR’S staging of the Jamaica National (JN) Foundation Heroes in Act!on Run/Walk will take place with the aim of benefiting the Trelawny Infirmary in Falmouth.
This year’s staging takes place on October 15 and starts at the Falmouth Pier with a warm-up at 6:30 a.m. before the race at 7 o’clock.
Race marshal Alfred ‘Franno’ Francis said that this year’s race would not only give participants the option of walking or running, but also choices between a 4K and 10K distance. He added that the course has been improved this year to lift the safety of competitors.
“Your Worship (Trelawny Mayor Councillor Collin Gager) and the JCF (Jamaica Constabulary Force) have provided escort and control for the past two runnings,” Francis said. “This year, we will have an additional set of marshals whom I consider my elite marshals.
“We will have a special set of volunteers from JN, and we are also going to use cones, especially on the highway. We will cone the soft shoulder and we’ll have our marshals there to escort and control, along with the JCF to ensure the continued safety of our participants. I say continued because we have had the run two years with no negative incidents.”
Francis said that ambulances and medical personnel would be what he describes as “strategically placed” along the route, but he asked competitors to properly prepare themselves ahead of the race to prevent emergencies.
The JN Foundation will be partnering with the Usain Bolt (UB) Foundation as Trelawny is Bolt’s parish of birth. Usain Bolt Foundation CEO Winsome Wilkins said that the Trelawny Infirmary should be a worldclass facility for its residents.
A WONDERFUL EVENT
Partnership and development manager at the JN Foundation, Onyka Barrett-Scott, said that they are partnering with the infirmary this year because they recognised the importance of taking care of the needs of Jamaica’s elders, whom she said have “paved the way for many of the nation’s successes”.
JN Foundation general manager Saffrey Brown is expecting the number of participants to continue to increase this year.
“We think it’s important that we continue to support rural development,” she told The Gleaner. “We’re looking for 3,000 runners this year. First year, we had 1,000. Second year we had 2,000, so we’re happy to grow at about a thousand. We wouldn’t want the run to get too big because it takes away from the overall experience. It’s a really wonderful event. You want to ensure that the numbers continue to support the environment, which is a really wonderful historical town.”
Brown said that although 100 per cent of funds raised would go towards the charity, the organisers have not set a specific target in mind. However, she said that the aim is just to create an event where participants can enjoy themselves and whatever is raised from it goes to a good cause.