By Tony Becca, - On The Boundary 
THE NINTH IAAF/Coca Cola World Junior Championships ended in an exciting and glittering climax at the National Stadium on Sunday night. Every Jamaican - those who won the bid to host the Games, those who planned and organised it, those who served as volunteers, those who performed and those who turned out - should pat his or herself on the back.
It was a great occasion, it paraded the best of Jamaica on and off the track, it was one more demonstration of the greatness of Jamaica and the class of Jamaicans. After all the negative publicity caused by the few thugs in the society, it was great for Jamaica and a wonderful showpiece of some of what is good about Jamaica.
On the track, Jamaica were magnificent.
Going into the final night with one gold medal, three silver medals, and four bronze medals, Jamaica lifted their count to a record 11 medals by winning the gold in the girls 4 x 100m relay, silver in the boys 4 x 100m and 4 x 400m relays. No praise is too high for the athletes - particularly the members of the girls 4 x 100m team.
On a night when the boys 4 x 100m team set a national junior record and ran the fourth fastest time ever before losing to a United States of America team that was pushed to a world junior record, when the boys 4 x 400m team set a national junior record while losing to a USA team running the second fastest time this year, and when the USA's boys teams and the pair of Meseret Defar Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia, who finished one-two in the girls 5,000 metres, were also brilliant, Jamaica's girls 4 x 100m team was special - extra special.
Inspired by a stadium so packed that thousands of fans were left outside, the 4 x 100m girls - Sherone Simpson, Kerron Stewart, Anneisha McLaughlin and Simone Facey - not only won the gold but in doing so they also ran the second fastest time ever and left the fans with something to tell their grandchildren.
The cheers that accompanied every stride, the cheers that reached a thrilling and deafening crescendo as Facey raced to the finishing line, the chant of gold! gold! gold! and the sounds of jubilation that followed the spectacular performance will echo in the ears of the over 30,000 fans for years to come.
What also made the night so memorable, however, was the size of the crowd and the quality of the closing ceremony.
According to IAAF members and Jamaicans who have been to other World Junior Championships, the crowd, from the start of the championships, was the best at any previous event, and on Sunday night it was by far the largest ever. On top of that, by cheering not only the performances of the Jamaicans but those of the other athletes, it provided such an atmosphere that IAAF president Lamine Diack was full of praise.
It was so impressive that in offering his congratulations to Jamaica for a great meet, Diack not only said that "the people are so warm and friendly", not only that he had never seen a crowd like that before or experienced such support for junior athletes, but that the IAAF will be back - that IAAF one-day meets will be staged here, probably once a year.
It was so impressive, that judging by the looks on their faces, Prime Minister P.J. Patterson, Minister of Tourism and Sport Portia Simpson Miller, JAAA president Pat Anderson, and chairman of the organising committee Dr. Vin Lawrence were proud of the country's support.
And they should be. By coming out in such numbers, by their generous cheering of all the competitors and by their behaviour, the people were wonderful.
It was such a great evening, such a splendid finish, that Jamaicans, including a large number who are living abroad but who came home for the occasion, went away happy and smiling and expressing their pride at what Jamaica had achieved on and off the track.
"This is great," said the Rev. Gervais Clarke who resides in Atlanta. "I want anybody tell me anything about Jamaica again. My country is the best. We can do whatever we want to do."
Kingston 2002 was a great event, it ended in style with fireworks bursting in beautiful colours under the night sky, with thousands of fans rocking and singing along as Bob Marley's "One Love" echoed around the stadium, and the young athletes from over 170 countries who danced on the football pitch to Marley's "Jamming" will never forget it.
They probably will also never forget Jamaica.
