Olympics: Three is the Magic Number

I take it all back, the doubt, the cynicism, the indifference, the Olympics have been awesome. The last week has been great for sport, Britain and of course - Jamaica. To be honest, I've never been more proud of my Jamaican heritage. Never mind the fact that I was born here and have only been there twice.

I take it all back, the doubt, the cynicism, the indifference, the Olympics have been awesome. The last week has been great for sport, Britain and of course - Jamaica. To be honest, I've never been more proud of my Jamaican heritage. Never mind the fact that I was born here and have only been there twice.

In the week that Jamaica celebrated fifty years of independence from Britain, Bolt and Blake demonstrated that this small Island, with a population of 2.7 million, is looked upon with genuine affection by millions of people around the world. In fact, I remember being in a remote village in Bangladesh a few years ago and a young man asked me where I was from; I'm British - I said. He refused to believe me and asked again. Jamaica - I replied, 'ah Bob Marley,' he shouted. I couldn't believe it.

Jamaica is a country that churns out superstars and the Olympics have only served to reinforce this. The 200m final was breathtaking with all three winners draped in the black green and gold flag at the end. I hope the likes of Bolt will inspire a generation of young people to be the best they can, in whatever they do.

And, it's not just the Jamaican athletes that have done their country proud. It seems that three is the magic number where London 2012 is concerned; I don't think I will ever forget Super Saturday and our three gold medals in the space of one hour. Team GB have surpassed expectations. Their success has triggered a palpable sense of unity and national pride.

Watching sports that I would never usually follow has been a treat too: cycling, rowing, archery - bizarrely, has all added to my enjoyment of the games. Then there's been the spotting of members' of Olympic teams from other countries on the way to work. Today I met the Nigerian Taekwondo team on the DLR, earlier in the week I spotted members of the Russian team - further reason for Olympic glee.

There has been much talk about the legacy of London 2012, let's hope that young children everywhere realise that with hard work dreams can come true. It's not all about the fast-track fleeting fame of reality shows.

Gosh, it seems like Seb Coe, Boris, Ken and all the other people in charge really have pulled it off. The question is, what happens next week when it's all over - what to do? Ah yes, book a holiday to Jamaica.

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