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From radiojamaica.com:

When Prime Minister Bruce Golding delivered the main address at Wednesday night’s 2009 Courtney Walsh Award for Excellence ceremony at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, he said he wants to re-balance how the Government’s resources are spent on sports.

The Prime Minister said more of Government funds should be spent at the community level. “I believe that we have to get our private sector to take on more of the burden of dealing with the national level sports which I think are depending too much on state support at this stage. These are athletes who have reached the stage where they can wear logos and can promote commercial enterprises.

“I want us to begin a program where we supply the support at the community level and at the schools. When I look at some of the school play fields that the young Usain Bolt and Brigitte Foster-Hylton are running on, I don’t know how they don’t break their necks,” said Mr. Golding.

He also defended his decision to ask the Governor General to confer on triple world record holder Usain Bolt the Order of Jamaica. “I felt that anybody who had brought such a sense of achievement to Jamaica, where he demonstrated not once, not twice, that he could move that record, establish beyond any doubt that he’s the fastest human that has ever lived deserved that award,” said Mr. Golding.

that was all bolt vs. spearmon and bolt brought it home big. USA second in 37.73 and Trinidad and Tobago in 38.20 take third at the IAAF Golden League - Zurich.

. . .tighten your seat belts.

On friday the US team won their heat with the fastest time of the day. Got disqualified for a handover that took place outside the designated box. They appealed, but on Saturday the IAAF upheld their decision.

Saturday morning the Jamaica Observer reported Powell would not run. But when the team showed up on the track, Powell was there - with or without a groin injury.

Mullings to Frater to Bolt with a shaky handover to Powell - the Jamaican team was never really threatened.

They clocked the second-fastest time ever of 37.31 seconds - behind their own Beijing Olympics WR time of 37.10.

Trinidad & Tobago clocked a fizzing 37.62 to win silver ahead of third-place Britain in 38.02.

In the end - what did it all mean?

Bolt became the only sprinter ever to hold Olympic and world titles in the 100, 200 and the 4×100 relay while also holding world records in those events.

Commentary of Berlin tomorrow.

mullings to frater to bolt to powell get gold and set a championship record in 37.31 followed by trinidad and tobago and the team from great britain in third.

bolt wins his third gold

full photo album on our facebook page at link ——->

after a 40 minute rain delay, usa and jamaica advanced in the 4X100 relay. germany dropped the baton.

the final is scheduled for tomorrow at 18:55

UPDATE: The US team are out of the relay - disqualified for an illegal baton change outside the box

Bolt, 23, has already won the 100m and 200m in world record times and now turns his focus to the 4×100m relay.

“Last year the Jamaican girls were favorites to win and messed up the baton change. I’m just hoping we get the baton round and win so I can get three gold medals and go home smiling. I‘m ready.”

The heats for the relay are today at 19:30 with the finals scheduled for 18:55 tomorrow.

The Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association yesterday named a strong 46-member team, including six individual medalists from last summer’s Beijing Olympics, for next month’s 12th IAAF World championships in Berlin, Germany. The team names were released 15 days after the National Senior Championships ended on June 28.

They will be supported by an 18-member management team consisting of six coaches (Bolt coach Glenn Mills will lead the coaching), three doctors, two masseuses and a physiotherapist.

The team will stage a one-week training camp between August 6-11 in the town of Herzog Onara in the city of Nuremberg before moving into Berlin ahead of the World Championships. Jamaica will be hoping to better the 10 medals - one gold, six silver and three bronze - achieved at the 11th staging of the World Championhips in Osaka, Japan in 2007.

The mens squad includes three PUMA athletes: Usain Bolt, Jermaine Gonzales and Maurice Smith. They will be joined by: Asafa Powell, Michael Frater, Maurice Wignall, Steve Mullings, Marvin Anderson, Ricardo Chambers, Allodin Fothergill, Lansford Spence, Dwight Thomas, Richard Phillips, Isa Phillips, Danny McFarlane, Josef Robertson, Alain Bailey, Nicholas Gordon, Julian Reid, Dorian Scott, Dane Hyatt, Yohan Blake, Leford Green.

FYI - Bolt is in Paris. Will try to get you some some behind the scenes info from this afternoon’s pre-meet press conference.

bolt won the 200m dash yesterday, the last event of the jamaican champs. so much for having “to run hard to get into shape” for the event . . . bolt let up the last 40 meters of the race, as this video shows. of note: check out ramon mackenzie wearing the batman mask. he did that in April at the boys & girls champs. unfortunately, he finished 4th at the champs so won’t be competing in berlin. (damn - i was so hoping to see batman in berlin!)

now bolt heads to europe where he’ll race several times prior to the world champs. next up athletissima lausanne.

in other news, delilah finished 9th in the steeple on the final day of the US Championships, missing out on a chance to represent the United States for the second time this year (she made the World XC team, finishing 33rd at the Championships in Amaan, Jordan). she’ll also head to europe for a summer of racing.

because i’ve become obsessed with jamaican traditions, today we’ve got ziggy, the oldest son of bob marley. matt taylor’s commentary on the bolt vs gay rivalry. where’s my ritalin? religion in jamaica. delilah dicrescenzo. a new bolt speak. hot young hollywood. and fresh updates as news comes in from jamaica and oregon. take a listen to ziggy while you’re reading the day.

. . . in its academic debates, ceremonies, business and political life. Predominantly a Christian country, Jamaica has large groups of Baptists, Anglicans and Roman Catholics. Other religions, such as Islam and Judaism are also represented on a small scale, adding to the diversity of the nation’s heritage. If you haven’t noticed - diversity is reality in all Jamaican culture.

The Guinness Book of Records documents Jamaica as having the most churches per square mile. Religion is the moral character of this nation, and most Jamaicans hold fast to a belief in a higher power, and in man’s mortality. Many Jamaicans spend a large part of their formative years in church, squeezed into pews with parents, siblings and grandparents; respect for faith is the message.

Their history and rich culture explain the rise of such religious forms as Rastafari and Pocomania, largely viewed in traditional religious circles as vehicles of rebellion. The Pocomanian beliefs are grounded in thanksgiving; they pray to be blessed with protection, healing and renewal. The message of repatriation (to restore someone to his homeland) is the Rastafarian soul. To renew their connection with Ras Tafari (Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia) they drum and chant.

The more you read about the island, the more you understand its people. Their temperament, passion and creativity are born of history. I now get why Bolt makes the sign of the cross before every race.

We’ve got Marley - the serious side of Bolt - Zard on Art - and we’ll keep updating throughout the day. Here’s another Marley song to listen to while you read.

I added the next street meet video on our facebook - so check it out.

The other day Bolt said he wanted to be a legend. How does one dream that? Is it born of ego? Belief? Spirituality? Or does it have more to do with passion?

I started thinking about legends. About Jamaica. About music. Once that process developed, one name dominated all thoughts: Bob Marley. And of course the classic album entitled, simply: ‘Legend’.

My favorite Marley song is “Waiting in Vain.” The lyrics are so perfectly revealed in that simple title. I’d share the lyrics here, but you need to go listen to the whole song. The voice is so scarred. The music almost buoyant when thought solely in the context of the message. The song has been covered by so many artists, but none match the purity of the original. Almost like trying to remake Lennon’s “Imagiine.” You can’t mess with the passion of a singer singing his/her own song. Not surprising that most truly great songs are by singer/songwriters.

“No Woman No Cry.” The live recording from the ‘Legend’ album gives every instrument a chance to soar - the organ, the voice, the guitar, and every aspect of the percussion is pushed so hard that it’s momentum should be studied by anyone wanting to produce music. Marley perfectly captures the past being embraced by the present for a hopeful future. The lyrics can be interpreted in so many ways - that a universality is undeniable. And then there’s that “everything’s gonna be alright” crescendo.

Songs like “Stir it Up”, “One Love/People Get Ready” and “Jamming” are classics. As a matter of fact the compilation album, ‘Legend’, released 3 years after his death which also contains “Is This Love”, “Buffalo Soldier”, “Get Up Stand Up”, “I Shot The Sheriff”, and “Redemption Song”, is beyond legendary. It has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide - and has stayed on the charts longer than any album, with the exception of Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side of the Moon.’ If you don’t already own this album - you must. And if you have it - listen to it today.

Photography should be direct. Like all art, it is meant to capture a moment - an idea - an impulse - an emotion. For Jamaica week, rather than highlight an artist or a piece of art, I decided to search for a few photographs that would capture the essence of the island. I viewed more landscapes in a few short days than I thought possible. Sorry none made the cut here. Not gonna get too definitive with my thoughts, because I would rather that you approach the images with an uncluttered and open mind.

For me Jamaica is all about joy - beauty - and passion.

“Orange Wall in Jamaica” by Micah Baldwin.

This weekend at the Supreme Ventures Limited Jamaica Championships, all eyes will be on Bolt and Asafa Powell. No argument. We know Bolt is ready. Powell - not so certain. The interesting part is who will join Bolt on the sprint teams for the upcoming IAAF World Championships in Berlin, later this year.

The chasing pack will be led by teenage sensation Yohan Blake (left photo), who is determined to make the 100m team for Berlin. Blake is the second fastest Jamaican this season with a 10.07 PB, and he along with former 200m champion Steve Mullings (10.12), Michael Frater (10.14), the 2005 world silver medallist, and Nesta Carter, the lead off runner on the world record breaking team in Beijing, are definitely the main candidates for the other spot.

World Junior and Youth champion Dexter Lee, who recently signed a professional contract, has the talent, but one feels this season will be difficult for him bounce with the big boys.

Bolt is expected to breeze through the 200m dash also, with his best challenges coming from his training  partner Marvin Anderson (20.15), Ainsley Waugh (20.22) and veteran Chris Williams (20.62), who is a former world silver medal winner.

But keep your eye on Nickel Ashmeade (photo with Dexter Lee). The teenage has gone 20.49secs this year and will be hoping to improve this performance to gain his debut spot on the senior team.

With this event and all the running going on in the US (PUMA’s Sean Quigley and Delilah DiCrescenzo are both competing) it’s sure to be an entertaining few days.

Video for your morning viewing pleasure - from the Penn Relays to PUMAs Street Meet.

At 1:04 you’ll see some Jamaican patties (which delivers us to the post below about Jamaican food.)