Jamaican High Commission United Kingdom

Jamaican high commission

Bolt and Becca win Commonwealth sports awards

July 1, 2011

Jamaicans Usain Bolt and Tony Becca were big winners at the Commonwealth Sports Awards held in Birmingham, England.

Bolt and Becca win Commonwealth sports awards

Sprint king Bolt won the Outstanding Male Athlete title while veteran sports journalist Becca won the Outstanding Sports Writer gong.

Bolt won the award for his 2009 triple gold medal feat at the World Championships in Berlin. Tony Becca was recognised for three decades of sports journalism. The only other Jamaican nominated was veteran netball administrator Molly Rhone in the Lifetime Achievement category. She lost out to New Zealand squash legend Susie Simcock. The Outstanding Female award went to British heptathlete Jessica Ennis, who is of Jamaican parentage.

The glittering ceremony was held at the world famous International Convention Centre and attracted a class list of attendees, among them Chairman of the Commonwealth Games Federation, Mike Fennell, Jamaican High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, His Excellency Anthony Johnson, former West Indies cricketer Alvin Kalicharan, former Olympian Grace Jackson, former England footballer Cyril Regis and current sprinters Mark Lewis Francis and Tasha Danvers.

The City of Birmingham which sponsored the event jointly with Moneygram was represented by Mayor Len Gregory and Leader of the council Mike Whitby.

Mike Whitby said the staging of the awards in Birmingham set the stage for activities in 2012 when the city will host training camps for the Jamaican and American athletics teams.

President of the Commonwealth Games Federation Mike Fennell lauded the organisers for successfully staging the event for 29 years. He noted that sports within the Commonwealth had grown significantly in recent years.

He said: “We have seen a growth in performance and sporting disciplines in the Commonwealth. The games give some of the smallest countries in the world a chance to compete successfully on the world stage. The performances have to be reckoned with all over the world. We will continue to grow and we look forward to an excellent staging in Glasgow in 2014.”

The Commonwealth Sports Awards was founded by Al Hamilton in 1981 and has been staged across different countries of the Commonwealth including England, Scotland, Jamaica, St. Lucia and Ghana.