WITH THE possible exception of the legendary Bob Marley in the field of music, Jamaican athletes have done the most to spread the name of this small nation across the world. So it was fitting that a larger-than-life statue of our greatest-ever female athlete, Merlene Ottey, was unveiled at the newly established Statue Park at the Independence Park Complex on Wednesday.
To most Jamaicans, Ottey is indeed larger than life. Her exploits on the track make her the supreme sports pioneer, placing her among the world's elite.
She has collected 35 medals in major international championships, including eight, a women's record, over a 24-year period in the Olympic Games. In addition, she has won 14 medals in the World Championships.
One of the best-known Jamaicans around the world, Ottey is admired for her longevity. Her senior international career began way back in 1979 and, at age 45, she is yet to announce her retirement.
Ottey's first great performance came in 1980 at the Moscow Games. She placed third in the 200 metres to become the first English-speaking Caribbean woman to win a medal at the Olympics. Jamaicans, at home and abroad, have derived much joy from seeing her run in the national colours in arenas all over the world.
This joy reached unprecedented heights at the World Championships in 1993 when Ottey won the 200 metres in Stuttgart, Germany, to pocket her first major individual gold medal.
Like the 1952 Helsinki 4x400m gold medallists - Arthur Wint, Les Laing, Herb McKenley and George Rhoden - Ottey has inspired a generation of Jamaican athletes.
Despite its small size and a population of less than three million, Jamaica remains one of the world's giants in track and field and this is in no small measure due to trailblazing efforts of McKenley, Wint, Donald Quarrie, Lennox Miller and Ottey.
It was indeed very moving that 83-year-old McKenley, a man who has helped to guide Ottey's career should have been present to witness Wednesday's ceremony.
Jamaica's latest female sprint star, Veronica Campbell, who, like Ottey, attended Vere Technical High in Clarendon, has on numerous occasions lauded the veteran athlete for the part she played in her personal success and that of the 4x100m sprint relay team at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
It was Ottey, though now running in the colours of her adopted Slovenia, who took the female sprinters under her wings before they went out and won Jamaica's first sprint relay gold medal at the Olympics.
It is hoped that the new park, the statues of Ottey and Quarrie and the soon-to-be-established sports museum will inspire Jamaican athletes to even greater achievements in the future.
Excellence in sport has periodically boosted national spirit and provided role models for our young people. They must grab the baton and carry on the great tradition of athletes like Merlene Ottey.
