Miramar City residents in South Florida are up in arms following a decision by the city to put up a $250,000 Usain Bolt Statue.
Bolt, an Olympic sprinting legend and the fastest man in the world is greatly admired across the world. But the Florida residents feel the cost of the statue is exorbitant. The city intends to honour the Jamaican legend but taxpayers term the cost ‘ridiculous’.
Why Miramar Residents Are Against a Usain Bolt Statue
They argue that the statue is more expensive than some of the gold medals he has won.
Winston Barnes, Miramar City Commissioner said that having Bolt’s statue at such a cost is a wastage of money by taxpayers.
“Miramar isn’t like Moscow, which has a Usain statue of its own. Miramar is not attracting international tourists,” reports Essentially Sports.
He maintained that having Bolt’s statue will not make Miramar’s economy a full 24-hour-cycle. Barnes says it beats logic having such in the city yet it is not gearing up to become a tourist city.
“Attaching ourselves to monuments or icons is not going to make us a 24/7 city. We’re not a tourist city — come on. The money could be better spent for “the larger community” of Miramar residents. I do not think we have the luxury to try to create monuments of icons simply at the fancy of elected officials.”
Usain Bolt gold statue. Photo/Pinterest
Miramar City Officials Justification for Usain Bolt’s Statue
Artist Basil Watson has been contracted by the city to work on the statue and will be paid in four instalments. Ideally, the city justifies itself by saying that it is honouring the Jamaican community living in Miramar.
The city also said that it wants Miramar to have a feeling of how art is like in public spaces especially those for international Olympians.
Who is Usain Bolt?
Bolt is a household name across the world. What many people do not know is that behind this name is a man who scored arduous odds to make a record.
The Jamaican’s sprinting record remains unmatched after his retirement. They have tried but failed. He is a happy sportsman who challenges and inspires the whole world with his zeal and determination.
The 35-year-old eight-time Olympic gold medalist never let fear cripple him. He is on the record with an inspirational quote on doubt. Bolt attributes his success on the tracks to his life-long mantra on self-belief. “I know what I can do so I never doubt myself”.
How Did Usain Bolt Start His Career?
Born in a small town on the third largest island in the Caribbean, Bolt grew up a lover of cricket and football. He played together with his brother and sister anytime they felt like in the streets while his parents managed a grocery store.
Bolt schooled at Waldensia Primary where his sprinting career took off. Teachers at the school noticed his huge potential and tapped this early enough. He loved sports and he confesses so.
“When I was young, I didn’t really think about anything other than sports,” he says.
A great cricket player he was in his childhood and one of his coaches at school noticed his swift he was. He urged him to think of sprinting which Bolt took up the challenge and started practising.
When he was 12 years old, Bolt stunned his school by becoming the fastest athlete at the school. He swiftly covered a 100 m track in the bat of an eye leaving many in disbelief.
After this, former Olympic Sprint champion Pablo McNeil trained a young Bolt. Dwayne Jarret, another sprinting champion helped train Bolt and he learnt fast.
In the subsequent world championships, he bagged medals in the junior, youth and senior levels.
This spun his athletics career to not only an eleven-time world champion but also a multiple Olympic gold medalists. Bolt broke history by becoming the world’s only sprinter to win Olympic 100 m and 200 m titles at three consecutive Olympics.
His career dates back to 2004 when he gained recognition. Between then and 2007, he competed in Junior, youth and senior level races before going pro. Bolt would then make a name for himself a decade later until his retirement in 2017.
What is the secret behind Usain Bolt’s success?
Bolt’s success did not come on a silver platter despite having the calling since he was a young boy. He breaks the belief that “he is just lucky” saying that it took years of hard work and sacrifice to be who he is.
In one of his famous quotes, he says, “Dreams are free. Goals have a Cost.” He adds. “While you can daydream for free, goals don’t come without a price of time, effort, sacrifice and sweat.”
He ends it by asking a rather provoking question ‘How will you pay for your goals?”
In his entire athletics career, his steadfast love for the sport and discipline still has him in the annals of history with mindboggling records. No other sprinter ever broke his records since his retirement in 2017.
As to whether someone else will in the future, that’s another story for another day. But, Bolt is sure his legacy will live on forever.
Usain Bolt. Photo/Caribbean News Weekly
Usain Bolt a Source of Hope
Besides his lustrous athletic career, Bolt is a beacon of hope and a fountain of inspiration for the downtrodden. Call him a motivational speaker in other words – you would be right.
His most famous is this one for his critics: “I know what I can do so it doesn’t bother me what other people think or their opinion on the situation.”
Better still, he has something for your mental strength. “Learning the mind is as important as understanding the body.”
For a man of his calibre, he weathered a major storm that is doping. He is a natural and kicked hard on the tracks without using performance-enhancing drugs that dog athletics. Great men and women have crashed their lives and career due to doping.
But he refuses to be a statistic of what greed and shortcuts can do to an overzealous mind.
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