Patriotic volunteer

It's such an amazing experience to be here in London as the patriotic fever rides high, especially now with Alia Atkinson qualifying for the finals.

As a proud Jamaican, there are many memories that the Digicel Olympic Diary will take away from this experience, but one that stands out at this moment is meeting one of the volunteers - who happened to be a Jamaican who moved to England 11 years ago - named Kimberley Walker.

A recent geography and geo-logy graduate from the University of Birmingham, these days, the 21-year-old spends her time among some of track and field's biggest stars.

Kimberly, one of 75 volunteers for Jamaica's current crop of Olympians, can hardly contain her excitement. After all, packing lunch and offering general assistance to the likes of global phenomenon Usain Bolt would be a dream for most - for her, it's a reality.

"This is an amazing opportu-nity for me," said the former Meadowbrook Estate resident and Ardenne Prep student.

"To be so close to these famous and very talented athletes is simply fantastic!"

Kimberly, who left the island at age 10, still has fond memories of her Jamaican childhood and admitted that she felt an extra sense of patriotism since the athletes' arrival in Birmingham for their pre-Olympic camp.

"I remember going to Hellshire Beach, going to Ardenne Prep and parties with bouncing castles at my friend's house. I just remember the childhood experience and just living it in the sun; missing that a lot being here," she smiled.

"I never thought I'd be that patriotic, but there was a moment when I was on the track with them for example, just watching them train and I actually felt really proud to be Jamaican at the moment - and there have been many similar moments since then.

"This has been such a really great experience for me," said Kimberly with a big smile stapled across her face.

Excited to help

With her was fellow volunteer Jemima Osubu, who, despite not being a Jamaican herself, was very much as excited to be contributing to the team's experience.

"I think it has been a great experience because Jamaica is always there in world class athletics. It's been great to see them and their work ethic and just to experience how friendly they are; I have never met people this friendly before," said England-born Osubu.

Not hard to guess who the pair's favourite athlete is - 'Usain Bolt' they declared, but they also seem to have a soft spot for another Jamaican speedster.

"I also want Asafa Powell to do well. I really like him as well," Walker noted to Osumu's nodding head.