Who said lightning doesn’t strike the same place twice? Well that legend was certainly proved false today when a Bolt of lightning struck Beijing this morning; wait… what is that I hear? Beijing was struck twice today? Yes the Jamaica team awed the Bird Nest Stadium with not one, but two brilliant, record breaking wins. Bolt unmistakably and phenomenally claimed the gold medal for the men’s 200m, while shortly after Melaine Walker gracefully, yet powerfully took the gold for the women’s 400m hurdles!
My office was evacuated at approximately 9:18am when everyone moved to the lunchroom, as it was time for the big race. The real big man, Usain Bolt was ready to claim what is his. The tension was high, not because we were nervous for him to win, but because we just wanted to see history in the making. As predicted and expected, Usain Bolt delivered an exciting performance as he shattered the current 200m world record setting a new record of 19.30 and claiming yet another gold medal. Congrats to Usain Bolt for setting yet another record, getting another Gold and making Jamaica and the Caribbean proud.
The contingent shortly gathered again in the lunchroom with bubbling excitement for the women’s 400m hurdles. And exciting it was! Not to be outdone, another female of from the Jamaica team comfortably claimed her Olympic goal as she sprinted away from her competitors. Melaine Walker displayed true determination with each jump of the hurdles to set a new Olympic record for the women’s 400m hurdles and the coveted gold medal. Congrats to Melaine on this achievement and making her nation proud.
Jamaica certainly celebrated these historic victories today all over. Reports are that Half Way Tree in the city of Kingston and St. Andrew came to a standstill today, with several vehicles stopped in their tracks and scores of people swarmed the road to watch the race on the huge screen erected across from the Transport Centre. I drove through Half Way Tree late in the morning and the support and pride of the Jamaican people was clearly evident. If I had invested in Jamaica flags before the Olympics I would have been a rich man by now. Never have I seen so many vehicles and people sporting the Jamaica flag, big or small they were blowing in the wind everywhere. There were several people seen selling flags along the roadway, and some of them were surrounded by mobs of people trying to purchase a flag. Jamaica is certainly a proud and happy nation at this moment as our athletes represent this tiny island wonderfully on the world scene.
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