In Jamaica, there is an expression that goes, “When Yu Big, Yu Big”, which means you are truly great when others, who are also great, acknowledge your greatness.

Security extends a protective hand as a journalist interviews "The Big Man".                       Desmond Palmer photo

Such is the case of Jamaican track and field mega star Usain ‘Lightning’ Bolt, who ran last Saturday at the 116th annual running of the Penn Relays, one of the top three oldest running track and field events in the world. The Olympics and Jamaica’s Boys and Girls Track and Field Championships are the other two.

I was on the field in the area where other great athletes representing Canada, Germany, the UK, the USA, Jamaica, The Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago and Russia were going through their warm up paces. I was able to move around, talk with the athletes and take their pictures while observing their warm-up routines.

Then something happened; Usain Bolt entered the stadium and the field, and the crowd of over 54,000 fans erupted into pandemonium and euphoria. I immediately turned my attention to the athletes in the warm-up area to see their reaction.  To my amazement, they all stopped in their tracks, so to speak, and for some 20 to 30 seconds, stared at Bolt, now referred to as “The Big Man” by sports writers and other athletes alike. And when he was ready to begin his warm-up routine, I was suddenly cordoned off behind a barrier of security personnel. The other athletes moved to one side of the field (in the same area) to continue warming up, allowing Bolt and his teammates to warm up by themselves.

The winning 4x1 team (from right) of Mario Forsythe, lead-off; Yohan Blake, back stretch; Marvin Anderson, 3rd leg; and Usain Bolt, anchor.                   Anthony Gayle photo

When the initial excitement lulled, I saw several athletes pull out cameras from their knapsacks and ask others to snap pictures of them posing with Bolt as he clowned around with them.

After the race, I was there among sport journalists who were interviewing one of the American athletes whose team had just lost to Bolt’s “Jamaica Gold” team. He was asked what he thought of Bolt, to which he smiled and replied, “Bolt is the real big man around here; yeah he is the real deal, man believe me… the real deal,” his words trailing off, his eyes staring but seemingly not looking at anything specific. Then, he nodded his head several times, his smile widened as his voice depicted a sense of awe and adulation.