Bert Cameron will be the motivational speaker at the launch of the 37th MILO Western Relays which is scheduled for today at The Wexford Hotel in Montego Bay, St James.

Cameron is the first male and Jamaican athlete to receive a gold medal at the World Championships in the 400m in 1983 in Helsinki at the first staging of the World Championships.

He has achieved at every level on the track and has received medals of every colour along the way. His medals include gold at the World Champs, silver at the 1988 Olympics in the 4x400m relay, gold at the 1982 Commonwealth Games, gold and silver in separate CAC Games and silver at the Pam Am Games, among others, including medals at the junior levels.

He carried the Jamaican flag at the opening ceremony of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California.

It was at that Olympics he pulled up in the 400m semi-final and virtually stopped after being injured, and then started running again to finish the race and qualify for the final but could not contest it due to his injury. It is still being hailed as one of best races ever.

Cameron was the sportsman of the year for three consecutive years — 1881, 1882 and 1883.

He attended St Catherine High and St Jago High Schools in St Catherine before taking up a track scholarship in the United States where he copped the NCAA 400m title for both indoor and outdoor.

He is currently the head coach at Cameron Blazers where he specialises in the 4000m.