Naturally, like Mr Usain Bolt, Racers Track Club, and the University of the West Indies (UWI) administrators, we are delighted at the installation by German firm BSW Regupol and PUMA of a 400-metre track which, essentially, is a gift to Mr Bolt, on land donated by the UWI.

For as Mr Bolt said in his acceptance speech last Friday, he and his coach Mr Glen Mills are happy to have the facility, as it now relieves them of the difficulties of training on grass on the occasions when the National Stadium is not available.

According to Mr Ulf Poeppe, the CEO of BSW Regupol, the blue track is “the most modern and sophisticated piece of track technology that one can possibly get nowadays”.

The track, he told guests at last Friday’s presentation ceremony, is almost an exact replica of that in the Berlin Olympic Stadium where Mr Bolt last summer stunned the world by winning gold medals in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay in world record times.

The occasion was the IAAF World Championships, and Mr Bolt’s achievements were enhanced by the performance of Jamaica’s athletes who, as they did at the Beijing Olympics a year before, made their mark as a sprint force to be reckoned with.

That BSW Regupol and PUMA saw it fit to donate this state-of-the-art facility to Mr Bolt speaks to their recognition of his awesome talent and their desire to see him and his Racers Track Club colleagues do as Mr Mills professed at the presentation ceremony — “dazzle the world with lightning speed”.

And even as we join coach Mills in thanking both companies, and endorse his encouragement to the members of Racers to take the greatest care of the track and make the best use of it, we must acknowledge that this facility is also a gift to the wider Jamaica.

For it is Jamaica that will ultimately benefit from the performances of the young men and women under the care of Mr Mills and his colleague coaches. It is against that background that we commend the UWI and its principal, Professor Gordon Shirley, for their insight and vision on this project, particularly for their signing of a 20-year agreement with coach Mills.

Professor Shirley and his team have demonstrated that they have an eye for the big picture, and are moving with purpose towards their goal of becoming the top sport development institution in the Caribbean.

The running track, he told this newspaper, would complement the Jamaica Football Federation Academy now being built, a planned Caribbean Sports Medicine Institute and a large multi-purpose indoor facility, which will accommodate court games, such as basketball, volleyball, netball, etc.

Professor Shirley also revealed that the university had already expanded its swimming pool, put in beach volleyball facilities, is upgrading its cricket pitch, and intends to upgrade football fields which are used by National Premier League club August Town.

All that, coupled with the UWI’s emphasis on academics, will no doubt contribute to the institution instilling in our young people the vital characteristics for becoming highly productive and responsible citizens. And the benefits will be felt for many, many years to come.