THE EDITOR, Sir:
JAMAICANS WERE able, if even for a short time, to forget our
problems and just savour the gifts that our athletes have been giving us
in Melbourne, Australia. I am constantly in awe of what this tiny island has accomplished in the way of art, academia and sports.
This only goes to show what a
talented set of citizens is being produced by this unbelievably beautiful country.
My thanks to all those wonderful athletes. You have all been bringing sunshine into our lives and speaking of sunshine our Sunshine girls never gave up and were duly rewarded with a tie.
It was an awesome game. Congratulations Sunshine Girls. If only you could motivate the West Indian cricketers to always fight back and not to constantly snatch defeat from victory.
Is it not also wonderful to slowly see our athletes going into the field events and winning medals. I do hope that this trend will continue and at the next Games Jamaica will be at the very top with all gold medals (one can dream, can't one?)
While watching the games my mind went back to the Games held in Jamaica in 1966. Jamaica did not do very well and we would never have heard our national anthem was it not for the fact that we were the host and so at the opening ceremony I think this anthem was played, but it teaches us we cannot win all the time, but that we must always continue to strive for excellence.
MEMORIES
So many memories flash across my mind about those games and I remember vividly the swim portion of the meet.
There was a participant in that meet who bore the name of a character in the television series called 'Fugitive' and you guessed each time he appeared the crowd roared 'Fugitive'
I also remember some very fat women who were thoroughly enjoying themselves and when the long distance race began they took a great interest in this race and eventually the three winners touched the tape, but obviously they were other athletes, who I imagine from sheer pride, went on running to get to the tape, well these women could not understand why they were still running because as far as they were concerned the race was finished and so what they did they do as most of the runners still running were evidently of Indian stock and these ladies stood up and screamed to them 'Indian, the race finish'.
With typical Jamaican humour the story making the rounds at that time was what Jamaica did to secure the games being held here.
The theory was that when our delegates went to negotiate the deal they took with them some Jamaican rum punch and offered this drink constantly to the other delegates, need I say more.
I am, etc.,
BARBARA COVER
Kingston 6
REUTERS
Jamaica's Sheri-Anne Brooks celebrates after winning the women's 100m final at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne earlier this week.
