The Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport has commissioned the production of statues of several track and field athletes, in honour of their outstanding contribution to the development of Jamaican track and field.
Four statues will be made of track and field stars Usain Bolt, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Asafa Powell over the next two years.
They will be mounted at the National Stadium Statue Park as part of a wider planned development of the stadium complex, which includes the National Sport Museum.
Sport Minister, Hon. Olivia Grange, who provided details of the Government’s programme of activities to celebrate the nation’s Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic heroes, at Spanish Court Hotel in Kingston, yesterday (October 11), said the first two statues – Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce – will be completed in time for the Jamaica 55 Independence celebrations in 2017.
The statues of Veronica Campbell-Brown and Asafa Powell will be completed for the following year.
The statues will be crafted by renowned Jamaican artist and sculptor Hon. Basil Watson, who sculpted the statue for sports icon Herb McKenley.