KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Usain Bolt will be awarded Jamaica’s fourth highest honour – the Order of Jamaica.
Jamaica Prime Minister Bruce Golding is expected to make the announcement during a sitting of the House of Representatives yesterday.
“I advised the Governor General to confer on Usain Bolt the Order of Jamaica for his outstanding achievements as a Jamaican at the highest level of international athletics,” said Golding.
He said: “When so conferred, he will at 23 years old be the youngest ever recipient of the Order of Jamaica.”
The 23-year-old superstar sprinter will officially be known as The Honourable Usain St. Leo Bolt, OJ.
Golding will also announce that Bolt will join fellow sports stars Merlene Ottey, Michael Holding, and Courtney Walsh as an Ambassador-at-Large with full diplomatic status.
In addition, the Jamaica Prime Minister will announce that Highway 2000 – the main thoroughfare that links several of Jamaica’s principal towns will be renamed.
“The Government of Jamaica has decided to rename Highway 2000, the Usain Bolt Highway in honour of this extraordinary gifted son of Jamaica and international super star,” said Golding.
Bolt reset the 100 and 200 metres World records last month at the World Championships in Berlin, Germany.
He clocked 9.58 seconds in the 100m, and 19.19 secs in the 200m at the Olympic Stadium to leave the World gasping at his extraordinary talents again, one year after he won three gold medals at the Olympic Games in Beijing, China.
Bolt also set World records for the 100m, the 200m, as well as with teammates Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, and Asafa Powell in the 4x100m relay.
This made him the first man to win three sprinting events at a single Olympics since Carl Lewis 25 years earlier, and the first man to set World records in all three at a single Olympics.
His feat in Berlin also became the first man to hold the 100m and 200m World and Olympic records and titles at the same time.
