The statue of the two-time world-record holder will be the fourth to be unveiled as part of the Jamaica 55 Legacy programme. Statues of Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Veronica Campbell-Brown and Usain Bolt were mounted over the past two years.
“This is the final of four statues that we commissioned as part of the Jamaica 55 Legacy programme to celebrate the achievements of our outstanding athletes,” said Jamaica’s Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, who invited the public at large to attend the ceremony.
“The statues not only highlight Jamaican athletic success but will serve as inspiration for all of us about what is possible when we try. So I invite as many people as possible to join us on Sunday and celebrate with Asafa.”
Renowned Jamaican sculptor Basil Watson was engaged by the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport designed all four statues.
Powell set the 100 metres world record twice, between June 2005 and May 2008 with times of 9.77 and 9.74 seconds, respectively. His personal best time off 9.72 s ranks as the fourth fastest wind-legal time in history.
He won bronze medals in the 100m at the World Championships in 2007 and 2009.
Powell also holds the world record for the number of times an athlete has broken the 10-second barrier, an incredible 97 times. However, he last broke the 10-second barrier in 2016.
His accomplishments were cast in stone on Sunday at the unveiling of a statue in his honour at the Independence Park complex in Kingston.
Before a large gathering that included athletes like Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Elaine Thompson, Michael Frater, Nesta Carter, Janieve Russell and Kaliese Spencer, Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness and Minister of Sport Olivia Grange, the statue of the former world-record holder was unveiled at next to those of Veronica Campbell-Brown, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Usain Bolt.
Each athlete was recognised for being among the best of an era and in some instances, the best of all time.
However, according to Powell’s manager and friend Paul Doyle, the sub-10 king will be most likely be remembered for who he was rather than for anything he would have done on the track.
“Asafa’s legacy is how he has been as a person. How he has conducted himself as a person,” said Doyle following Sunday night’s unveiling.
“An Australian 1500m woman told me one time; we were in Osaka at the end of the season and we were all partying at the end of the year, and she said genuinely, everybody wants Asafa to do well. She said we secretly cheer against the Americans who are cocky and all that but Asafa is always so humble and we genuinely want him to do well, and that is a global feeling, to be honest. He is appreciated more for his character more than his performances on the track.”
Come March 1, and continuing to mid-July, the government through an initiative via the Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, athletes who have qualified or are on the brink of qualification for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo, will receive J$20,000 per week towards their preparation, to be disbursed on a monthly basis.
The cash is to assist the athletes to offset costs relating to coaching and training, transportation, physiotherapy and massage therapy, nutrition, and other associated needs. In addition, the Jamaica Athletes Insurance Plan (JAIP) is available to assist with medical treatments that the athletes may require.
Minister Olivia Grange made the announcement on Sunday evening at the unveiling of the statue in honour of four-time Olympian and two-time world-record holder Asafa Powell at Independence Park in Kingston.
However, there is a catch.
“The athletes selected to benefit from this programme must be certified by the local governing body for the sporting discipline to which they belong as well as by the National Olympic Committee and the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA),” Minister Grange said.
She said her ministry was in the process of finalising the details of the programme in consultation with the respective national sports federations.
“The success of this programme will be dependent on input and information provided by the national sports governing bodies and so look forward to their full cooperation in this regard,” he said.
“We already know that within gymnastics and aquatics, there are athletes that have achieved the qualifying standard and, of course, our track and field athletes will also be on show in Tokyo, but we continue to cheer on and give support to our hopefuls in boxing, karate, canoeing, rugby, table tennis and rowing.”
