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博尔特为什么拒绝去美国？
作者 杨成

你知道吗，牙买加长期以来都盛产飞人，却从没有一个为牙买加夺得男子百米的奥运金牌，这是因为那些极具天赋的选手很难阻挡“移民发达国家”的诱惑。然而，乌赛因•博尔特（Usain Bolt）把他的成功献给了牙买加，他甚至拒绝了来自美国大学的邀请。

Getty Images供图
牙买加和牙买加人是博尔特的力量源泉

力量来自山药

赛后接受记者采访时，博尔特声称自己比赛前吃的是鸡块。

外电甚至考证出，他吃的是奥运村里的麦当劳的麦辣鸡块，比赛的当天他共去了两次麦当劳。

不过，他的爸爸老博尔特可没有把儿子的成功和美国快餐连锁店扯在一起。

8月16日，老博尔特在接受路透社采访时声称，儿子从小吃山药，此次夺金绝对要归功于“特里洛尼山药的力量”。

特里洛尼是博尔特的故乡，也是牙买加最大的山药产地。

牙买加每年出口到美国、加拿大和英国的山药中，有一半产自特里洛尼。每年的3月，“特里洛尼山药节”（Trelawny Yam Festival）都会吸引成千上万的游客，并被称为“牙买加原生食品节”。

因此，老博尔特的言辞听起来就像施瓦辛格说自己的一身肌肉全靠加州盛产的葡萄一样。

不过，山药是牙买加乃至整个加勒比海岸最常见的食物，偏偏牙买加又有生产世界飞人的传统，谁敢说这两者到底有没有关系呢？

拒绝了美国大学的青睐

数十年来，美国大学一直有给牙买加优秀高中生运动员奖学金的传统。

往往是一个年轻的高中生冠军刚刚诞生，转眼就去了美国不再回来。

2004年，18岁的博尔特在雅典奥运会上意外受伤，在200米首轮就以很不理想的成绩遭淘汰。

不过，他的天赋有目共睹，美国的好几所大学随即给他提供了奖学金。

牙买加是一个小国，经济条件和训练设施都远远落后于欧美等国，这种诱惑很难抵挡。

正因为如此，牙买加长期以来都面临“盛产飞人，却从来没有一个为牙买加夺得男子奥运百米金牌”的尴尬局面

——在博尔特之前，历史上曾有三名牙买加人夺得奥运男子100米金牌，分别是

本•约翰逊（Ben Johnson）1988年为加拿大夺得（后因禁药事件被取消），

克里斯蒂（Linford Christie）1992年为英国夺得，

多诺万•贝利（Donovan Bailey）1996年为加拿大夺得。

近年来，牙买加的训练设施正在逐渐改善。

但最终让博尔特留下的，却是他大大咧咧的个性，他说自己在牙买加生活习惯了，根本不想动身去美国。

拒绝了美国大学后，博尔特每天开着自己的本田雅阁去牙买加理工大学（Jamaica\'s University of Technology）上学和训练。

更多精彩链接

Trelawny Yam Festival,Jamaica\'s Original Food Festival
Bolt\'s gold down to yam power, father says



Main Page The Events History Become A Sponsor TYF Merchandise All About Yam Previous Festivals Trelawny Yam Festival 2007 Recap
Come Easter Monday all roads lead to the cool hills of Trelawny for the annual Trelawny Yam Festival. The purpose of the Trelawny Yam Festival is to provide an event which celebrates the rich culture and heritage of Trelawny and of Cockpit Country, an integral part of which is the cultivation of yams. The goals of the Festival are:

(1) To promote the consumption of yam and encourage the development of value added by-products to develop the local economy

(2) To promote the culture and heritage of Trelawny

(3) To provide the opportunity for investment and the development of alternative business activity

(4) To promote south Trelawny and Cockpit Country as a destination for community and eco-tourism.

This one of a kind cultural and heritage festival draws on average 10,000 patrons each year and has grown from a one day event to seven days of celebrations culminating in Grand Yam Festival Day on Easter Monday. The overwhelming success of the festival has convinced Trelawny residents that this event must become a continuous and integral part of the economic and cultural life of the yam producing basket of Jamaica.

As the culmination of a month of events promoting Trelawny, the aim of Grand Yam Festival Day is to showcase the overall community of Trelawny and its environs, focusing on the production of yam, yam by-products and the internationally acclaimed bio-diverse wilderness of Cockpit Country. The major activities planned for Grand Yam Festival Day include the following:

Community Showcase: Cockpit Country communities are targeted to conceptualize a booth showcasing their community. With assistance from the Yam Festival planning committee, communities determine the unique culture, products, heritage and talents of their community and display themselves to Festival patrons.

Culinary Competition: The Culinary Competition showcases the wide array of food items that can be made from the yam. The dishes entered into the competition range from traditional Jamaican dishes to contemporary foreign foods with a yam twist. Local residents, schools and major hotels face off in separate competitions. Dishes are sampled by judges to determine winners. Festival patrons have the opportunity to sample all dishes and vote in the Taster\'s Choice category.

Cultural Performances: Cultural Groups from across the island are invited to perform on the main stage. A wide cross-section of performance types are used to give visitors an accurate representation of the diversity of Jamaican culture. Winners from the Schools Song, Poetry & Dance Competition are also be invited to perform at the Festival.

Yam By-products Display: Local producers of yam by-products are employed by Festival organizers to develop yam by-products to be sampled and sold at the Festival. Proper packaging, labeling and marketing strategies are developed by Festival organizers to ensure high quality product offerings. This attraction provides visitors with an opportunity to take a piece of local Jamaican culture home with them.

Yam Market: Local farmer\'s groups are invited to develop a yam market to provide local, fresh yam for sale to Festival patrons.

Evening Stage Show: Select nationally and internationally recognized performing artists perform at an evening stage show. The stage show attempts to capture Jamaican culture and the current state of Jamaican music and acts as a Festival highlight to cap off the day\'s activities.

Promoted by: Southern Trelawny Environmental Agency

Title Sponsor: Cockpit Country Adventure Tours


Bolt\'s gold down to yam power, father says
Sat 16 Aug 2008, 14:38 GMT

[-] Text [+] By Horace Helps

KINGSTON, Jamaica (Reuters) - Usain Bolt streaked to 100 metres Olympic gold at the Beijing Olympics on Saturday thanks to yam power, his father said.

Wellesley Bolt said his son was partial to the vegetable grown in the north-western area of Jamaica where the sprinter was born.

It is definitely the Trelawny yam, Bolt senior told Reuters seconds after his son smashed the world record on the way to landing the biggest gold medal in sport.

The yam grown in the parish Trelawny is one of the staples that has made the area famous. It is sold in huge volumes here and much of it is exported. Citizens of the area believe that it has medicinal properties.

I was very nervous before the race, my heart was pumping. I spoke to him about two days ago and told him that I was getting nervous and he said \'don\'t worry Dad, I am going to win this one for you\', Wellesley told Reuters from his home, less than 30 minutes drive from the western tourist city of Montego Bay.

My house has been taken over by more than 100 people from inside and outside the community.

They are waving flags, beating drums and just making a lot of noise. But this is a special moment and to know that a Jamaican has done this and I am the father of that Jamaican makes me feel special.

I never expected him to break the world record, but I am proud of my son.

Bolt senior said he sympathised with compatriot Asafa Powell who finished a disappointing fifth.

That was surprising to me. I really feel it for Asafa because I felt that he should have performed better, he said.

Bolt\'s sister Sherine said she knew he would break the world record.

I expected my brother to win the race and I told my daddy last night that he would do 9.68 seconds. He didn\'t quite do that, but I am happy still, Sherine said.