Bolt to be honoured with Florida statue

World record holding sprint legend Usain Bolt is to be honoured by the City of Miramar in Florida on July 15.

A statue of Bolt will be unveiled as part of the city’s tribute.

The statue was done by renowned Jamaican sculptor Basil Watson, out of Atlanta, Georgia. The cost of the statue is US$25,000, and it will be located at the Ansin Sports Complex in Miramar, which now boasts a world-class track and which has seen a number of international track meets being held at the sports complex.

The Vice Mayor of Miramar, Jamaican Alexandra Davis, who commissioned the statue and who has organised the event to honour Bolt, told The Gleaner that it is fitting that the city should recognise Bolt’s achievements.

The statue to Bolt will represent the first monument erected in a public space under a new programme in which developers in the city have been asked to commission art pieces in public spaces in their development projects to benefit the city and the people of the city, Davis told The Gleaner.

She said the funds for the statue were part of the arts and public spaces fund. Developers who are unable to provide art pieces in public spaces contribute to this fund along with the city itself.

Bolt, who will arrive in Florida on July 14, will hold clinics for young prospective athletes as well as oversee a number of races among different groups.

On July 15, a banquet will be held in his honour, with part proceeds from that function going to Bolt’s foundation and part going to Do The Right Thing Inc of City of Miramar.

People Profile, an organization in South Florida, which honours outstanding people in various fields, headed by former Global Diaspora Council Member Dr Allan Cunningham, will also be presenting an award - The Legendary Iconic Award - to Bolt at the Saturday night function.

Cunningham said the tribute to Bolt is also a tribute to the Jamaican community in South Florida and is recognition of the role Jamaicans have played in the development of the city economically, culturally, and otherwise.

Jamaica’s Consul General to Miami Oliver Mair also welcomed the unveiling of the statue to Bolt saying that it is not only recognition of his achievement on the track, but a reflection of the high esteem in which Jamaicans are held in Miramar.

“Jamaicans have contributed significantly to the city, and this tribute to Bolt is also an honour to the Jamaican community as a whole,” he said.

The Ansin Sports Complex, where Bolt’s statue will stand, is a 24-acre state-of-the-art sports complex that features an FTX Mondo running track identical to the 2008 Olympic track in Beijing, along with a 9,000 square-foot community centre, fitness centre, and a 5,000 square-foot covered children’s boundless playground.

The IAAF-certified running track is equipped with hurdles, high jump pads and standards, pole vault pads and standards, three long jump pits, one discus and shot cage, a 200m practice track, which makes the complex a perfect host for local, regional, national, and international competition and meets.