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First images of Usain Bolt statue emerge before unveiling at Ansin Sports Complex on July 15
Written by Leighton Levy. Posted in Athletics. | 30 June 2023 | 1508 Views
Tags: Athletics, Alexandra Davis, Olympics, Usain Bolt Statue, World Athletics Championships

With the much-anticipated unveiling of a statue of Usain Bolt at the Ansin Sports Complex in Miramar, Florida, still two weeks away, the city’s vice mayor Alexandra Davis has given a glimpse of what the monument to the greatest sprinter of all time will look like.

In recent days, Davis posted images on her standing alongside the statute that will be mounted at the facility where Olympic relay gold medallist Briana Williams once trained under the watchful eye of coach Ato Boldon.

Noted sculptor Basil Watson was commissioned to undertake the project at a cost of US$250,000. It will be paid for under the Art in Public Spaces ordinance designed to promote art throughout the city of about 150,000.

“It will spur on economic development and serve as an inspiration for up-and-coming athletes of all ages and backgrounds,” Davis told Sportsmax.TV in 2022, adding recently that “developers pay into the fund if they cannot provide public artwork at their facility.”

Preceding the unveiling on Saturday, July 15, the city will host a fundraising dinner on Friday, July 14. A track meet will be held at the Ansin Sports Complex on Saturday that will be followed by a press conference after which the Bolt statue will be unveiled.

Though he has never competed at the facility, Bolt has been an inspiration to many of the large and diverse community that make up the City of Miramar in Florida.

The Jamaican sprinter is the only man to win the 100 and 200m at three consecutive Olympic Games (2008, 2012 and 2016). Bolt also set world records of 9.58 and 19.19 in the 100 and 200m, respectively at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin, Germany.

Both records still stand today, 14 years later.

Bolt also won 11 gold medals, 13 overall at the World Championships between 2007 and 2017 when he retired from the sport after winning bronze in the 100m in London.