Usain Bolt carved a name for himself in sprinting history and proudly represented his home county of Jamaica while at it. His accomplishments on and off the track have also undoubtedly made him a very revered figure in the Caribbean nation.
Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness once again reflected on Bolt’s legacy when he was paying tribute to the sprinting legend’s father Wellesley Bolt during his funeral service at the Falmouth Seventh Day Adventist Church in Trelawny on Sunday.
Holness in his speech described Bolt, 38, as a “national hero,” Jamaica Observer reported. “Usain is a global icon, a national hero…a national asset,” the prime minister stated.
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“Usain [also] said that ‘whatever I am today, it was because of my parents’. He gives credit to his parents. It is not easy to be a world champion and I am certain that it would have taken Usain’s village to raise him to become this world champion but it all started in the home,” Holness added.
“I want to say to you, Usain, the entire nation mourns you. The entire nation embraces your family and surrounds you with prayers at this difficult time.”
Holness has reportedly been coy when the topic of Bolt being eligible to be conferred with a national hero status comes up. He also spearheaded a recent status known as “national icon,” which is to honor the accomplishments of trailblazing Jamaicans including Bob Marley and Louise Bennett Coverley, the poet and activist seen by many as the “mother of Jamaican culture” due to the efforts she made in promoting the Patois language.
The proposed introduction of the “national icon” status has also sparked a conversation on whether Bolt deserves to be conferred with that honor or rather be regarded as a national hero for his contributions to nation building, Jamaica Observer reported.
Bolt has in the past said that though he feels he’ll not be presented with a national honor while he is alive, he does not dwell too much on that. Holness was later asked about his choice of words in his speech at the funeral service, to which replied, “Usain is a hero no one has to think about that.”
Bolt’s father, who previously ran a grocery shop in the Jamaican town of Sherwood Content, passed away on March 31. The sprinting legend emotionally eulogized his father during the service, saying that the older Bolt taught him how to be respectful.
“When it comes to respect, anyone who knows me knows that I am very respectful … that is one of the biggest lessons I learnt from my dad. No one could go in his shop and behave bad; and no matter how old you were, he would tell you to get out of the shop, and stand outside, because if you have no respect, you cannot come in there,” Bolt recalled, per Jamaica Gleaner. “That is how my dad was, and that is how I am trying to grow my kids.”
“My father was tough on me, but I know he always wanted the best for me. I love my dad, and he was a very kind person… he was a very giving person, and as we talk about the shop, that shop cost me a lot of money, because all he did was give,” he added. “No matter what or who it was, anybody from Sherwood Content can tell you that they could always go to him and say, ‘Mr Bolt, I’ll pay you tomorrow,’ and he would give to them.”
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