Veronica Campbell-Brown Statue To Be Unveiled On October 20

The Statue of Jamaica’s sprint queen Veronica Campbell-Brown will take its place in Statue Park at Independence Park on October 20, 2019.

The Minister of Sport, Olivia Grange, who made the announcement, said: “The Veronica Campbell-Brown Statue is ready, and will be unveiled on October 20.”

She was speaking at Wednesday’s Jamaica JAAA press conference to announce Jamaica’s team for the Doha 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships.

The event will be over ten days, September 27 to October 6.

Campbell-Brown is an eight-time Olympic medalist and the second woman in history, behind Bärbel Wöckel of Germany (1976 and 1980 Olympics), to win two consecutive Olympic 200m events in 2004 and 2008.

At the World Championships level, Campbell-Brown won 100m in 2007 and the 200m in 2011.

In total, she won 11 World Championships medals, five at the Commonwealth Games, two World Indoors and one World Relays.

The former Vere Technical student has personal best times of 10.76 (100m) and 21.74 (200m).

“Veronica, who is among Jamaica’s most celebrated athletes, was the first UNESCO-designated champion for sports in the Americas…that designation being conferred on her in 2009 when I was Minister, Grange said.

Campbell-Brown’s focus has been on women and girls in sports, advocating for equal treatment for them and clean sports.

The Ministry of Culture engaged sculptor Basil Watson, to design statues of four of Jamaica’s outstanding sports stars under the Jamaica 55 Legacy Programme.

The statues of Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce have already been placed at the park. Asafa Powell is the other Jamaica to get a statue.