TRELAWNY, Jamaica — While offering his own thanks for the contributions the late Wellesley Bolt, father of sprint sensation Usain Bolt, would have made to the country, Prime Minister Andrew Holness declared Usain to be a “national hero”.

He was speaking at the funeral service to honour Wellesley at the Falmouth Seventh Day Adventist Church in Trelawny on Sunday.

“Usain is a global icon, a national hero…a national asset,” said Holness.

“Usain [also] said that ‘whatever I am today, it was because of my parents’. He gives credit to his parents. It is not easy to be a world champion and I am certain that it would have taken Usain’s village to raise him to become this world champion but it all started in the home,” the prime minister shared.

“I want to say to you, Usain, the entire nation mourns you. The entire nation embraces your family and surrounds you with prayers at this difficult time,” he said.

Holness had in the past steered away from conversations about whether or not Bolt could be classified as a national hero due to his exceptional representation of Jamaica across the world in athletics and his further contribution towards nation-building.

The prime minister even pioneered a new “national icon” category aimed at nation builders like reggae sensation Bob Marley and Louise Bennett Coverly, known for her popularisation of Jamaican Patois.

It has fuelled speculation on whether Bolt, who is often cited among the likes of Marley and Bennett Coverly for his national contributions, will be classified as a national hero or a national icon.

Bolt himself has said he does not expect to be conferred the title while alive and is not stressed about it.

READ: Bolt says he considers himself a national hero

When queried about the language usage as he left the thanksgiving service, Holness only reiterated, “Usain is a hero no one has to think about that.”

Despite his grief, the younger Bolt spoke fondly of his father during the ceremony.

Wellesley Bolt died on March 31st after a prolonged illness.