Main

More Joy for Jamaica - with more to come August 18, 2008

Collectively as a nation, we have been swept up in a whirlwind of excitement over the electrifying performances of our talented young athletes at the Olympics. They have done us proud, particularly in the 100m finals with Usain Bolt galloping to a new WR of 9.69, and the historic 1-2-2 sweep by Shelly-Ann Fraser in 10.78, with Sherone Simpson and Kerron Stewart sharing the silver medal in a dead heat.
And there is more to come . . .
Experiencing the eruption of pure abandon and joy that only we Jamaicans can exhibit is in itself a national exercise.

More joy for Jamaica as Shelly-Ann Fraser heads clean sweep in Beijing
The Bird's Nest Stadium swayed to the reggae beat again when Shelly-Ann Fraser led the first Jamaican sweep of the medals in the women's 100 metres.

By Tom Knight in Beijing, The Telegraph (UK) 17 Aug 2008

It was the first time one country had claimed all the medals since the US sprinters dominated the Olympic final in 1912.

Only 24 hours after Usain Bolt's swashbuckling world record in the men's event, Fraser waited until she had crossed the line before punching the air with the clock stopped at 10.78sec, the fastest winning time since 1988.

Behind her, it took a photograph to determine that Sherone Simpson and Kerron Stewart had dead-heated for silver medals in 10.98sec.

Fraser, who won the 100m silver medal at last summer's World Championships, said: "About 50 metres out, I glimpsed to the sides and I smiled. Then I powered through the line. When I crossed the line and saw Sherone and Kerron there, that was the moment and I wouldn't trade it for anything."