The lightning behind the bolt
By By Renée Cummings
This brings to mind ,what happen to our own Hasley Crawford
Story Created: Jul 9, 2011 at 1:02 AM ECT
(Story Updated: Jul 9, 2011 at 1:02 AM ECT )
SHE'S the woman behind the fastest man in the world; the lightning behind the bolt. When a teenage Usain Bolt had little interest in track and field, it was Lorna Thorpe his physical education teacher, at William Knibb Memorial High School, in Jamaica, who recognised his extraordinary potential and gave him a powerful push that propelled him on to the track and into a public consciousness, positioning him for record breaking world class success. Bolt didn't disappoint. That first push was all he needed to sprint ahead of some of the best and all of the rest to snatch a piece of history, in 2008, at the Beijing Summer Olympics
He demoralised the world record. Bolt is a three time world champion and Olympic gold medalist. He's the world record holder and Olympic record holder in the 100m, 200m and the 4 x 100m relay with his Jamaican team.
Thorpe was so nervous for him that she covered her head with a towel to hide her face. But the towel wasn't enough. She also closed her eyes. She just didn't have the courage to look at the race. The moment was way too overwhelming. "After the race, when I looked up, I was moved to tears." She was in charge of an Olympic village set up in Bolt's hometown of Trelawny where friends and family, members of the community and the media came together to watch the games on television. "When he won I started to jump for joy, celebrating and crying and jumping, crying tears of joy." Every emotion she felt on that unforgettable day came back in her voice as we spoke. "When I looked at him all I could see was one of my students, one of my sons that I loved. I didn't speak to him immediately after the race but I did get to speak to him before the 200m." His management team had called from Beijing. 'Miss everything will be okay,' that's what he told me.' For her, that was reassurance enough, she knew he would pull it off and he did with another gold.
Thorpe has been a PE teacher for over 30 years and a sports lover all her life. She was also an athlete, competing in both high jump and long jump. She took her love of sport, from the field to a formal high school curriculum at William Knibb Memorial High where she earned a reputation as a Jamaican gold weaver. "I do what I do because of the love of sport," she tells me. "At the moment, Usain is number one but he isn't the first." Retired 100m Jamaican sprinter and record holder Michael Green was also her student at William Knibb Memorial. He graduated, in 1989, as one of the fastest men in the world. Green is also from Trelawny, Bolt's hometown. Marvin Anderson and Lerone Clarke the 2010 Commonwealth Games 100m champion were also her students. "They are too numerous to name," she laughs with pride. "And it's not only track and field, its netball, cricket and football." She holds safe the combination to the vault of Jamaican sporting success; it's a winning formula that empowers and promotes power. And it's simple. "You have to be there for them."
"I was Usain's PE teacher and his form teacher. We shared a special relationship, more like a mother and a son. Once I identified the talent, I had to make him work on it," she says, reminiscing. "I had to make sure he went to training. Whatever he needed, I had to make sure he had it, like if he needed track shoes. I also had to make sure he went to his classes because the academic is very important." She remembers a young Usain who loved competing and winning more than he loved running. "He was always out there trying to win." She first heard of him through another teacher, Colin Campbell, who gave her a heads-up on his primary school prowess and told her to keep an eye out for him at the "parish" finals. "I saw this exceptionally lanky young man," she says, laughter punctuating each word with a delightful pause. "Everything about him was just right. So we offered him a scholarship. He was 12 years old."
Bolt first made history, in 2002, at 16, at the World Junior Championships, as the youngest ever gold medalist. At the CARIFTA Games, two years later, he soared in 20 seconds under, with a time of 19.93,s breaking the previous world junior record. Faster than fast, but not so long ago he wasn't that quick when it came to deciding that track and field would be his career of choice. Playing professional cricket for the West Indies was on his youthful mind but Thorpe had lifetime plans for his legs; big, bold, brave plans. "I had to get him away from cricket and serious about the track programme. I had to get his priorities straight." It took some convincing. "I couldn't let anything happen to his legs. I had to be very careful. I had to talk to him every day. I had to make sure he concentrated on track and field. When you have a goldmine in your legs, you can't give it up for anything." Thorpe wasn't prepared to let anything happen to those legs.
The minute she saw him she knew it. "I had no doubt. I knew with hard work and dedication he would do it. I was always in his corner." A woman who has dedicated her life to teaching and nurturing the mind, body and spirit of her students, Thorpe sounds a cautionary tale to all teachers. "You have to believe in your students. You have to give them the time they need. You have to work with them. You can't give up on them even when they have a down day. You also have to accept them for who they are and you also have to remember that kids are mysterious." This advice must be worth something. If gold is the measurement Thorpe's words have a lot of currency. An island of three million people Jamaica has won 13 Olympic gold medals. That's a world class achievement. Jamaica, historically, has been a powerhouse of the sprinting world and that's a house that Thorpe helped build.
"You also have to accept them as one of your own. And once you treat them as one of your own, you will make much of them," Thorpe says with a passion that penetrates the core of your being. "You have to let your students know you are proud of them. Whether they win or lose, they have to know that you are in their corner. You just can't give up on them." According to Thorpe, giving up on Bolt was never an option because of his pertinacity and irresistible charm. "That's Usain, he's very charming. He can't get rid of that. He's just full of smiles and he can't keep still. He's also loving and very humble. He's also very caring and it goes back to his home, his parents, they taught him well. No matter where on the island he was competing, if both of them couldn't make it, one of them was always there. It didn't matter where." For a teacher, that level of support coming from the home,was an extra motivator. For Bolt, she always pushed herself just a little bit further. Bolt recently told the BBC he was "indebted" to Thorpe. Little did he know that he paid it back the day he focused on track and field and forgot about cricket.
"He loves to give back. He has built a lunch room for the students of his school. The PTA started it and for years and years, they were trying, but he took it over and it has been completed. It will be officially opened in September when Usain is available." She's elated by his generosity and always moved by his kindness and the consideration he continues to show for others. But, that's off the field, on the field, she's yet to decide what excites her more, his past victories or those to come. She couldn't curb her enthusiasm or contain her exuberance when he won gold, years ago, at Jamaica's most popular school sporting meet called "Champs." For Jamaicans, to win a "Champs" gold medal is like winning a world championship. It is the Inter Secondary School Boys and Girls Championships, a massive annual school sports, in Kingston, that religiously draws a crowd of over 30,000. In 2001, at 14, he didn't win but two years later, at 16, he broke both the 100m and 200m records. The rest is now history. And his past performance predicts the making of more history for a man the world media lovingly nicknamed "Lightening Bolt." Thorpe contends, "Usain is raw talent. When I first saw him I knew the best was yet to come. We still haven't seen the best of Usain Bolt."
