Chasing Bolt

Open the link below and watch the video.  It’s crazy. 

http://pacesportsmanagement.flowebsite.com/video

The allure of Usain Bolt is that he’s always being chased, whether on the track or on the streets. The fastest man in the world can’t be caught. His management company, Pace Sports, just released a video “Chasing Bolt: Episode 1, Paris” which shows how the fans flock to him as he travels between meets. The video shows the fans running after Bolt in his team van while in Paris for the Diamond League meet, a 100m race in which he beat countryman Asafa Powell, and training partners Yohan Blake and Daniel Bailey, with the fourth fastest time this season at 9.84.

What’s amazing to me is that these crowds don’t seem to fluster Bolt. It wouldn’t be extraordinary if he started to believe the hype and think he’s the greatest athlete ever and maybe that’s happened, I don’t know. For the most part I think he’s pretty grounded. To some extent I would have thought the fans constant expectations that he break his records every time he’s at the line would have affected his performance in some way, but it doesn’t seem to.  Although he’s still overcoming an injury to his Achilles tendon and has only raced five times this year in the 100m and 200m he’s still clocking times that would be personal best for most sprinters.   

His closest rivals, Powell and Tyson Gay can’t catch Bolt and that’s a great part of the obsession with Bolt. That two world champions can’t catch the 6’5” dancehall fanatic. In another era Powell and Gay would be chased around as the fans in the video are chasing Bolt. But all three have peaked at the same time and unfortunately only one mountain is higher than the rest.

For the sake of track and field, I can only hope that Bolt stays healthy. That he continues to win races (with fast times), strike his pose and bust a move on the track so that fans continue to run after him; but that he saves the records for the World Championship and Olympics. 

  -- Connie Aitcheson

Bob Marley at the World Cup

New York -- I sat watching the World Cup in pain.  The gutter play of unnecessary fouls and countless missed chances for goals between the Netherlands and Spain made me moan as the match became a torture to watch.

And then seconds after the final whistle blew and it was clear Spain was the World Champion, Bob Marley echoed across the stadium with "Could You Be Loved."  The first song to announce the winners was from Jamaica's own, Bob Marley; at this I got happy.

Bob is no stranger to Africa having written songs to liberate and encourage Africans aroung the world, including "Africa Unite," "Zimbabwe" and performed in opposition to apartheid. So he is much loved in the continent. He was represented by Damian Marley and Nas with "Strong Will Continue" on the World Cup album though they didn't perform at the event.

At the Beijing Olympics, the DJ knew what he or she was doing when Elephant Man's "Nuh Linga" and "Gully Creepa" were played. Any observant fan of track and field in 2008 was ready to crown Usain Bolt as the sprint king during the Games so the DJ was prepared with the songs.

As well, reggae has increasingly managed to be the background or main music in countless movies, among them "In Her Shoes" with Cameron Diaz is one that pops into mind.


But father Bob is eternal.  His music always finishes off what needs to be said.  He always puts the little island in the middle of something grand.  So even though the Reggae Boyz weren't near South Africa, Jamaica was represented when "Could You Be Loved" started off the World Cup party in South Africa.


Bob reigns forever.
-- Connie Aitcheson