All eyes on Jamaica
Published:Thursday | July 26, 2012 | 12:00 AM
Team heads to London for Olympic opener
Athletes say goodbye to Birmingham
BIRMINGHAM, England:
Jamaica's Olympians were expected to say goodbye to Birmingham early this morning and check into London's Athlete's Village ahead of tomorrow's Olympic opening ceremony and a highly anticipated press conference, which is being hosted today by the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) and the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association.
Some 70 international broadcasters and more than 100 members of the written press are expected to pose questions to some of the country's biggest names and, for the first time, will have open access to the likes of triple Olympic champion Usain Bolt who, to date, has been keeping a low profile since his arrival in the United Kingdom (UK), save for a brief chat with The Gleaner a few days ago.
Defending 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, 200m champion Veronica Campbell-Brown, World 100m champion Yohan Blake, former 100m world record holder Asafa Powell and former 100m hurdles World champion Brigitte Foster-Hylton are expected to field questions from the media.
JOA President Mike Fennell is also scheduled to appear before the media.
The Jamaicans have been in the UK since July 15, where they have been sharpening up ahead of the Olympic Games at the University of Birmingham. The team spent their last night in Birmingham at the Symphony Hall as special guests during a special concert staged to mark the 50th anniversary of Jamaica's Independence.