Bolt’s Trelawny heartland salutes its most famous son
SHERWOOD CONTENT, Trelawny — When Usain Bolt lunged towards the line comfortably ahead of a strong field in the 200-metre final at the Rio Olympics on Thursday night, wild cheers erupted across Sherwood Content and Water Square, Falmouth, where scores of people had gathered to watch Trelawny’s most famous son make history.
For them, winning the gold medal didn’t come as a surprise. What they were hoping was for the lankly sprinter — who had completed a third consecutive 100m crown on Sunday — to lower his 19.19-second record in the 200m set at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin.
“We were confident… we had no doubts that he would win, we were just hoping that he would break the record,” said Edgar Harrison, a resident of the small farming community of Sherwood Content, Bolt’s hometown.
Harrison, who was among scores of fans who watched the race on a big screen television set in the community, added: “Bolt nevertheless really did a wonderful job… he showed Sherwood Content people, Jamaica and indeed the world that he is the best.”
The celebrations after the race continued there until the wee hours of yesterday. Cheering and pulsating reggae music could be heard from rum bars and shops as well as homes around the usually quiet community.
Several persons, too, were seen on the streets beating pot covers, blowing horns and waving miniature Jamaican flags.
Celebrations were also ongoing in other sections of Trelawny, including Water Square, where a statue of Bolt is expected to be erected in coming months.
There, cheering residents, including Mayor of Falmouth Garth Wilkinson, hailed Bolt as “one of the best athletes to grace the world”.
“As usual, the ‘big man'[Bolt] has delivered. I know that it was because of the weather conditions in Rio why he did not break his 200m record. He trained hard for the event, which is his favourite, so I was expecting the record run,” Wilkinson argued.
Tearrow Clarke, another resident who watched the race on a small screen in Falmouth, also congratulated Bolt on his victory.
“It was a good, good race…. well done, Usain Bolt,” said Clarke.
At the start of the race, Bolt flew out of the blocks and left the field for dead, winning in 19.78 seconds.
Andre De Grasse of Canada, who on Sunday won bronze in the 100m, was second in 20.02 seconds, while France’s Christophe Lemaitre got the bronze.
