USAIN'S MOTORCADE! The Queen herself would love that much

[Mosiah]

attention!

People, mi never see suh much motorbike outrider from mi bawn! But the weather (Hurricane Ike) didn't cooperate and Bolt couldn't get to make use of the open top BMW he was riding in.

I can just imagine what is going on in New Kingston right about now. Gridlock for at least a 3 mile radius from Knutsford Boulevard.



And all of this for someone who didn't even win 8 gold medals!

[MdmeX]

Lawks Mo - yuh caan just Celebrate, whether sane or drunk &

disorderly

..and stop throw yuh wud bout 8 Gold medals; why yuh suh darn kantankerous !

[Mosiah]

MdmeX, a bay excitement out inna di street! Mi nuh know how di real celebration gwine top dis one. Dem haffi give holiday dah day deh! People a standup pon top a truck, dem a do di Nuh Linga and di Gully Creepa, dem a pose like lightning bolt and dem a wave flag!

Mad tings! Chuss mi! Fi just 3 degeh-degeh gold medal!

[Gamma]

is not the goldmedals...is just the world recordS!

[Mosiah]

But smaddy name Philips (the name Bolt used when talking about Michael Phelps) have more dan him!

[Gamma]

ah...the mythical phillips.....yes...legend tells the tale of a legendary swimmer whose "feets" were the stuff of legend....

[Gamma]

and, and, and, and, the fact that it was on terra firma...

[Sir X]

Bolt is home - PM says social capital will not be squandered Sprint star calls for unity
published: Tuesday | September 9, 2008

Daraine Luton, Staff Reporter

Usain Bolt greets fans at Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston yesterday on his return to the island for the first time since his exploits in Beijing, China. - Rudolph Brown/Chief [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]Photographer[/COLOR][/COLOR]
THE EUPHORIA surrounding Usain Bolt's success at the Beijing Olympics will not be allowed to die, Prime Minister Bruce Golding promised yesterday on the return of the superstar athlete to the island.
Bolt, who won three gold medals in world-record fashion at the Beijing Games in China, returned home to streets overflowing with ecstatic Jamaicans.
The locals braved the afternoon rains just to get a touch of their hero, who received several scratches from the nails of adoring fans.
Golding described the behaviour towards Bolt as love and told the 22-year-old sprinter how much he is adored by locals.
"What it does say to you is that you have captured the heart of the Jamaican people, you have captured their love and attention," Golding said.
The world-record holder for the 100 metres and 200 metres was taken on a motorcade from the Norman Manley International Airport to The Jamaica Pegasus [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]hotel[/COLOR][/COLOR] in New Kingston.
The motorcade travelled east along Mountain View avenue, along Arthur Wint Drive, then to Oxford Road before using the Knutsford Boulevard to get into The Pegasus.
The prime minister was more than impressed by the way Jamaicans came out to meet the man nicknamed Lightning Bolt.
"The last time I saw people come out like that along that route was when Nelson Mandela was here in 1990. I have not seen that sort of response since," Golding said.
No squandering
The prime minister later told The Gleaner that the Government would not squander the social capital associated with Bolt.
"There are programmes that have already been developed for that and we plan to roll that out round about the time when the celebrations take place," Golding said.
Bolt, who said he was glad to be home, had a message for wrongdoers.
"It is just unity," Bolt said when asked about what his message was to gunmen who have contributed immensely to the nearly 1,200 murders in Jamaica thus far.
"I think that we need to keep letting them know to keep positive and to work hard. There are a lot of ways (to get what you want in life) instead of resorting to violence," Bolt said, while underscoring the value of hard work.
Bolt also said he plans to make [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]charitable[/COLOR][/COLOR] donations, but noted that he had not had the time to determine when and who would benefit from his generosity.
[COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]Sports[/COLOR][/COLOR] Minister Olivia Grange, however, has her eyes set on his record-breaking shoes.
Sporting museum
"We want those spikes," Grange told Bolt while announcing plans to have a sporting museum here.
A country with a rich sporting [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]history[/COLOR][/COLOR], Jamaica won 11 medals (six gold, three silver and two bronze) in Beijing.
It was the country's best-ever achievement at the Games. The previous best was seven medals in Sydney in 2000.
The Government has said that there are plans afoot to stage four days of celebration to honour the athletes for their achievements. The celebrations are to commence on October 3 when the other athletes return home.
The celebration will see a motorcade taking the athletes through the Corporate Area and will culminate with a massive salute at the National Stadium.
There will also be a series of other activities, including a motorcade in western Jamaica as well as community visits by the athletes.
daraine.luton@gleanerjm.com
Artist Delroy Haye (left) presents track and field sensation, Usain Bolt, with a portrait of the Olympian in action during a welcome reception and press conference held for Bolt at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston yesterday. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer

[Sir X]

A golden return
published: Tuesday | September 9, 2008

Jarmila Jackson, Features Writer

Usain Bolt makes his trademark pose for fans on arriving at the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston, yesterday. - photos by Rudolph Brown/Chief Photographer
The long-awaited homecoming of Jamaica's Olympic hero, Usain 'Lightning' Bolt, led thousands of Jamaicans to scatter along the route of his extravagant motorcade into black, green and gold outfits, despite a torrential downpour.
Half an hour before his plane touched down on Jamaican soil yesterday afternoon, the crowd outside Norman Manley International Airport had already spilled out on to the road. They blocked traffic to mimic his signature 'lightning' pose while dancing the now famous Nuh Linga and Gully Creepa, to music blaring from speakers strapped to the back of a bicycle as policemen on duty stood by, powerless to stop them.
"Some people a get wet, but we nuh care," said Beverly Henderson, one of hundreds of residents who had flooded the intersection of Windward Road and Mountain View Avenue, waving flags and knocking together Dutch-pot covers in a frenzy anxiously awaiting the moment they would get a glimpse of their hero.
We want Bolt

Fans try to get a look at Bolt while it rains at the intersection of Windward Road and Mountain View Avenue. - ricardo maykyn/staff photographer
"All phone a get wet, but we nuh wah no phone, we want Bolt!" she said.
At one point, time seemed to stop when one woman shouted "A him! A him!" while pointing to the motorcycle units that led the motorcade.
Abandoning any semblance of shelter, even as the rain got heavier, adults and children alike stormed barefoot towards the car through ankle-high water.
A stampede threatened as people pushed past each other, running alongside the maroon-coloured BMW to touch a hand that Bolt could only manage to extend a short distance through the cracked window.
From Harbour View, straight through Rockfort and on to Mountain View, crowds erupted in celebration, bearing signs with '9.69', as the motorcade pushed slowly along to end at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel, in New Kingston.
"Oh God! He did Jamaica proud!" said one vendor, laughing as he tried to resume his business. "What a piece of excitement!"

Fans, young and old, turn out to get a glimpse of Bolt along the path of the Olympic superstar's motorcade yesterday.

Bolt is greeted on arrival by Lorna Golding (foreground), wife of Prime Minister Bruce Golding (left), while security personnel look on.

Bolt is greeted by his mother, Jennifer, father, Wellesley (second right), brother, Sadiki (right), and Prime Minister Bruce Golding.

Bolt is welcomed by Mark Linehan (centre), CEO of Digicel Jamaica, and Richard Stewart, executive chairman of Stewart's Auto Sales.
Fans show support for Bolt.


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[Sir X]

Tourism fund ready for action
published: Tuesday | September 9, 2008

Sheena Gayle, Gleaner Writer

Olympic triple [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]gold[/color][/color] medallist Usain Bolt makes his [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]trademark[/color][/color] pose on arriving at the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston yesterday, while Minister of Information, Culture, Youth and [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]Sports[/color][/color], Olivia Grange, looks on. - Rudolph Brown/Chief [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]Photographer[/color][/color]
WESTERN BUREAU:
As a result of the success of Jamaica's athletes at the Beijing Olympics, the hefty billion-dollar purse of the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) has now been opened up for any feasible sports tourism development project suggested by the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB).
"We will look seriously at anything that will enhance the tourism product," TEF Chairman Godfrey Dyer told a recent Gleaner Editors' Forum held at the offices of Globe Insurance in Montego Bay, St James. He was being questioned about the role the fund could play in converting Jamaica's rich sports tradition into sports tourism.
An excess of $2 billion has been garnered from the fund since it was established in 2005, he said.
Promoting growth
The mandate of the TEF, under the Tourism Master Plan for Sustainable Tourism Development, involves promoting growth and development in the tourism sector, encouraging better management of environmental resources in the island, enhancing the overall tourist experience and providing for the sustainable development of the tourism sector.
Dyer lauded Tourism Minister [COLOR=orange! important][COLOR=orange! important]Edmund[/color][/color] Bartlett's initiative to capitalise on Jamaica's track-and-field success in organising an invitational 100m beach sprint event, slated for November 2009, and which will see some 30 international athletes and celebrities competing on a three-lane beach track designed by the Italian company Mondo.
This, Dyer noted, is "sports tourism and I am sure that the JTB will be looking more seriously on what more can be done in the area of sports tourism, especially with Jamaica's success at the Olympics".
Professionals needed
But well-known sports organiser Ray Harvey said the vision of sports tourism would not be accomplished if sporting professionals were not included.
Harvey, who is the organiser for the Milo Relays, charged that "Jamaica needs to engage a professional who is in the field of sports marketing and have that individual look at what we have to offer and determine how we can package it and market the product".
Jamaica had its most successful Olympics to date in Beijing, China, when its athletes brought home a total of 11 medals - including six gold - from the games. So extraordinary was the country's success at this year's Olympics, that Jamaica was listed second in the world with the most medals per capita.

[Sir X]

Royal return
Sprint star Bolt gets homecoming fit for a kingBY KAYON RAYNOR Senior staff reporter raynork@jamaicaobserver.com
Tuesday, September 09, 2008

The legend of Usain Bolt continues to unfold. Hailed as the star of last month's track and field programme at the 29th Olympiad in Beijing, China, following his triple gold medal performance in the 100m, 200m, 4x100m - all in World Record times - Bolt returned to Jamaica to a welcome fit for a king yesterday.

Many, including Prime Minister Bruce Golding, likened the 22-year-old sprinter's reception to visits by former Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie and former South African president, Nelson Mandela, in 1966 and 1991 respectively.
Triple Olympic gold medallist and record holder Usain Bolt (right), accepts a portrait of himself from artist Delroy Haye at the official press conference at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston following his return to the island from London yesterday. (Photo: Joseph Wellington) It took Bolt's motorcade just over two hours to travel from the Norman Manley International Airport to the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston, an eight kilometres journey, which usually takes between 20 and 25 minutes.
Bolt arrived in the island at 1:40 pm, some 25 minutes after his original scheduled time on board Virgin Atlantic's massive 747 (Flight 69) to a hero's welcome.
Met at the rear exit by Minister of Sports Olivia Grange, Bolt posed in his trademark To the Worl' signal to much applause from the scores of airport workers who converged on the tarmac, many of them perched atop the many vehicles which waited with equipment to service the aircraft after Bolt's nine-hour flight from London, England.
"I'm just happy to be home. I just glad," Bolt told journalists from 17 media houses, including news crews from BBC TV, London Times, French TV1 and Le Quippe (newspaper) also out of France, who were accredited to witness his long awaited return to the island.
Among the dignitaries on hand to greet Bolt on the tarmac were Transport Minister Mike Henry, Opposition Leader Portia Simpson-Miller as well as officials of the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA), the Jamaica Amateur Athletics Association (JAAA), past Olympians, members of Bolt's family, including his mother Jennifer and father Wellesly as well as his younger brother Sadiki.
Despite bypassing immigration and customs, it still took the affable sprinter more than three hours in a red BMW sponsored by Stewart Motors, to arrive at the Pegasus Hotel for the press conference as citizens braved pouring rain for a glimpse of him.
Prime Minister Golding told the Observer that he felt much pride and emotion to be among the first Jamaicans to have met Bolt upon his return to the shores of Jamaica.
"There is just a feeling of goodwill and excitement," Mr Golding said. "This is perhaps the most extraordinary athlete I have seen in my lifetime and perhaps for all time because as good as Jessie Owens and Carl Lewis were none of them ever returned home with three world records (and gold medals) from the Olympics," the prime minister said, noting that yesterday's welcome was just the tip of the iceberg compared to the four-day event planned for the "entire Olympic delegation for October 3".
Leader of the opposition Portia Simpson Miller said she was elated to have been among those who had the opportunity to welcome home the Glen Mills-coached Bolt.
"It's a feeling of joy and elation," Simpson Miller said. "I'm just happy for Usain, his parents, family, coach, community and school. Our sons and daughters really made us proud in Beijing," she noted.
President of the JAAA's Howard Aris, who thanked Bolt and his connections for contributing to the nation's success in Beijing, urged the government and corporate Jamaica to continue supporting athletics as they look forward to the future World Championships in Berlin, Korea and the 2012 Olympics in London.
"We look forward to future athletics talents coming out of Jamaica," Aris said during the press conference.
Bolt was treated to a surprise performance by dancehall star Mavado, who along with the Nexus Performing Arts Company did a rendition of the DJ's hit song I Am On The Rock.


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[Sir X]

Bolt to di worl'!
Crowds brave rain to welcome home Olympic championBY KIMONE THOMPSON Observer senior reporter thompsonk@jamaicaobserver.com
Tuesday, September 09, 2008


The heavy rains that pelted the island yesterday were not enough to dampen the spirit of hundreds of Jamaicans who lined the streets of Kingston to welcome home Olympic champion Usain Bolt who broke two world records and had a hand in a third at the Beijing Olympics last month.
The skies were black, signalling the fury to be unleashed, but fans were undaunted. For the entire stretch of road between the Norman Manley International Airport and the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston, housewives, grandmothers, pregnant women, professionals, schoolchildren, men, boys and girls stood in the pouring rain, singing Bolt's praises.
Double Olympic champion and World Record holder in the 100m and 200m Usain Bolt gives his now trademark pose after exiting the Virgin Atlantic aircraft on his arrival at the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston yesterday. At left is Sports Minister Olivia Grange. Bolt received a hero's welcome from excited Jamaicans along the route from the airport to the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel. (Photos: Bryan Cummings and Collin Reid)
Others crowded the corridors and sidewalks outside their offices, congregated on low roof tops or peered through the windows of high rise buildings.
They took time off from work, paused household chores, delayed taking the children home from school and put off their homework. They faced the slanting rain, waded in water which was at times ankle-deep, and many of them trekked all the way from the Palisadoes road to the Pegasus.
"I feel like ah dog wid ten tails," said Jenny Jamieson as she stood at the Harbour View round-a-bout yesterday.
"Mi ah tek mi lunch time now cause mi haffi deh yah so. Mi love Usain Bolt. Him mek Jamaica proud and di way mi proud ah him mi haffi come show mi love," she added, as she paid for a green, black and gold wrist band and a Jamaican flag.
Unlike Jamieson, who took time off work, Joyce Allen, an elderly woman from Yallahs, St Thomas, was home with nothing doing.
Fans squeal in excitement as they reach out to touch the BMW carrying Olympic champion Usain Bolt on Mountain View Avenue in east Kingston yesterday. Bolt, who broke the 100 and 200 m world records at the 29th Olympiad in Beijing last month, came home to a hero's welcome yesterday. Members of Government, including Prime Minister Bruce Golding and minister of sport Olivia 'Babsy' Grange met him on the tarmac at the Norman Manley International Airport and escorted him to the Jamaica Pegasus where he was the subject of press conference. (Photo: Naphtali Junior)
"Me hear it on the 12 o' clock news and mi just jump in mi car and come down here," she said. "He's a hero. I have heard so much about him and I just want to see him in person."
And as much as the occasion drew hundreds of fans, it also drew peddlers who made quick cash from the sale of flags, buttons, bracelets, wristbands and even shoes and school bags in the black, green and gold.
"Cho, look how di place black up man. Ah hope him come before the rain enuh," a woman in the growing crowd was overheard saying. She did not have her wish however, as within a matter of minutes, heavy drops sent fans scurrying for cover. Where they did not have rain coats, or where umbrellas where made useless by gusty winds, people used cardboard boxes and pieces of carton or plastic bags.
Then there were others who, apparently caught up in Beenie Man's Heart Attack and Mavado's On The Rock blaring from two vehicles parked nearby, just let the rain soak them.
When at 1:55 pm a van coming from the direction of the airport announced via loud speaker that Bolt's plane had landed, the crowd became ignited, screaming, dancing, shouting. Eager to get the first glimpse of the lankly sprinter, they wandered out into the road blocking traffic from the airport.
By the time the deep burgundy BMW with the word 'Digicel' emblazoned on the hood and back windshield appeared, the crowd was in such a frenzy that the convoy could barely make it through. Fans grabbed onto the sides and jumped onto the hood, trying to get Bolt's attention. Although his car was a convertible, he had to satisfy himself with just an open window since it was pouring.
"Usain, Usain, Usain" chanted a group of students from Donald Quarrie High School.
"To di worl'", others shouted. "Bolt to di worl'".
Buoyed by excitement, the more avid of the fans decided to make the trek to the Jamaica Pegasus where Bolt was to be the subject of a press conference. Some drove, some hitch-hiked, others walked. And all along the route - via Rockfort, Mountain View Avenue, Arthur Wint Drive, Tom Redcam Avenue and Oxford Road - more kept joining.
The Observer caught up with a young man in the vicinity of Excelsior High School on Mountain View Avenue who said he had been following the convoy from the time it left the airport. His white T-shirt, blue jeans and black sneakers were drenched but he didn't seem to mind.
"It more than worth it, baby. It more than worth it," he told this reporter.
Maurice Taylor, an employee of the Companies Office of Jamaica, agreed.
"I wouldn't care if [my bosses are upset that I am out here]. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. This don't happen everyday," he said standing at the corner of Oxford Road and Knutsford Boulevard.
He worked through lunch, he said, so that he could leave early and see history unfold. At 4:30 pm it did.
"This is the second greatest day in history," he exclaimed. "The first was when he broke the 100m record... I woulda like fi bottle da day yah and tek ah sip ah it when mi down," he said, before racing to get "better shots" of Bolt.

[Sir X]

Bolt Interview while returning ..You Tube Video

http://www.youtube.com/user/brianmaxsports

[Sir X]

BBC Video of the Return of a King

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7605842.stm

[Mosiah]

"Me hear it on the 12 o' clock news and mi just jump in mi car and come down here," she said. "He's a hero. I have heard so much about him and I just want to see him in person."

There have been numerous occasions for Jamaicans to see Bolt. But people going to bruk dem neck now to get on the bandwagon.

Hmmm - deja vu?