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Beijing 2008
Jamaica roar out of blocks
Ap, Beijing
SPEED IS JAMAICA: Jamaica's super sprinter Usain Bolt crosses the finish line well ahead of the pack in the men's 100m sprint final on Saturday while his compatriot Shelly-Ann Fraser (R) celebrates after winning the women's 100m dash yesterday in the Beijing 2008 Olympics at the National Stadium. Photo: AFPWhen it comes to Olympic sprints, nobody does it better than the Jamaicans. Yeah, mon.The Caribbean island of 2.8 million people capped the first gold-medal sweep of men's and women's 100-meter dashes since 1912 with a rare 1-2-2 sweep of the women's race. After never winning Olympic gold in the 100, Jamaica got two in as many days.Shelly-Ann Fraser won the women's dash Sunday, pumping her fist as she was clocked in 10.78 seconds. Teammates Sherone Simpson and Kerron Stewart finished in a dead heat for the silver, 0.20 second backthe same margin Jamaica's Usain Bolt won by Friday night when he hot-dogged to the finish in 9.69.Fraser knew she had won and smiled wide, showing those braces, and then went to pick up the green, yellow and black Jamaican flag. It was the widest margin of victory in an Olympic women's 100 final since 1988, when Florence Griffith-Joyner set the world record.“When I was thinking about it, I was getting ahead of myself,” Fraser said about a gold medal. “I was like, 'Calm down. First you need to go out there and do it.”'She did, and after she crossed the finish line more than a body length in the lead, reggae music played in the background during a three-minute delay while judges looked at the photo finish. There was no way to split the difference, so Jamaica got the top three spots and didn't even have to settle for a bronze.“It's about time,” Stewart said when asked what the sweep meant. “We've been waiting on this. So many great athletes have come so close.”Jamaica's big win turned into a giant disappointment for the United States. Lauryn Williams finished fourth, Muna Lee fifth and Torri Edwards last. Lee, the only one of that U.S. trio with another chance for an individual medalin the 200said she thought there was a false start.“I didn't know if they were going to call it,” Lee said. “I should have just ran. That's my fault.”Even that might not have made a difference.The Jamaicans are just that good.“We've dominated for years, and now it's their time,” Williams said.Making it even more impressive is that the woman widely considered Jamaica's best at this distance, defending world champion Veronica Campbell-Brown, wasn't even in the field, after failing to qualify at the country's Olympic trials.Her spot essentially went to Fraser, the least accomplished of the Jamaican sprintersat least until now. She is only 21same age as Boltand didn't have a time under 11 seconds before this year. The highlight on her resume before now was the silver medal she won as part of the Jamaican relay team at last year's world championships.
One of several CNG filling stations between Kanchpur Bridge and Jatrabari of the capital which BNP big shots built on the Kutubkhali canal, drastically reducing Dhaka's drainage capability. PHOTO: STAR
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