Bolt in Brixton

Who won the race? the DJ shouted on Sunday night. Who won the race?

Bolt,Bolt,Bolt,Bolt,Bolt! the crowd shouted back.

With that fact established,Bob Marleys One Love came over the speakers. And two hours before Jamaicas 50th anniversary of independence from Britain,the Jamaican outpost of Brixton began to celebrate the success of its countryman Usain St. Leo Bolt,the fastest man in London and anywhere else. He has another gold medal in the 100 metres to prove it,with an Olympic record time of 9.63 seconds.

Bolts fellow Jamaican Yohan Blake finished close behind,in 9.75 seconds,for silver and Justin Gatlin 9.79 of the US took the bronze.

It is nothing short of remarkable that a nation of 2.7 million has produced the fastest men and women in the world. The US and Britain may produce some elite athletes,said Garfield Robinson,who sells advertising for two London-based newspapers that cater to the citys West Indian population. But little Jamaica,that dot on the map,is right there with them.

It is that intimacy that motivates people like Robinson to pull for the runners of his homeland. When Im in Brixton, he said,I feel like Im in Kingston.

This is true on any day,despite the changes to the neighbourhood in the six decades since it was first settled by Caribbean immigrants. But it was especially true on Sunday. Brixton was wrapped in the green,gold and black of the Jamaican flag. The sounds of reggae throbbed down Electric Avenue and the air was thick with the scent of jerk chicken,incense and various other things.

Usain Bolt was on T-shirts everywhere,some depicting just his face. Bolts visage hung alongside Marcus Garveys and Bob Marleys in a gallery of posters celebrating Jamaican heroes that were hung along historic Coldharbour Lane.

Its massive on two levels, explained Conroy Linton,an enthusiastic 49-year-old who was wearing a Jamaica-green tie. We need to consider the significance for all Jamaicans,expats as well as the second- and third-generation Jamaicans here.

Rashid Nix,a radio host who was talking with Linton,is not Jamaican,nor was he even born in the Caribbean. He was born here. But his family is from Barbados and that is good enough.

For me I was born and raised in this country a West Indian, he said. This is the mecca for West Indians.

There is not unanimity whether it is Bolt in particular or just anyone wearing the black-green-and-gold who is worth such celebration. Dread said he would be happy if any Jamaican won,while a woman selling Usain Bolt T-shirts said she did not give much thought to his teammate Blake.

But Robinson says it is more than just a single personality. Its not just Bolt, he added. Bolt is just the most immediate symbol of our struggles.

Brixton has certainly struggled. It was here that the first Jamaican immigrants settled after World War II. Those early settlers entered a city that was often hostile. It remained for years hobbled by crime,poverty and a dearth of opportunity. In April 1981,Brixton exploded into riots,sparked by an aggressive stop-and-frisk policing policy. Exactly a year ago Sunday,the general rioting across London reached Brixton and left a Footlocker store in flames.

These days,Brixton is on the way to becoming Brooklyn. A part of town long avoided by outsiders has begun in recent years to be colonised by young professionals and is a destination for foodies. But the heart of Brixton still beats Caribbean,and for 9.63 seconds on Sunday night there was no better thing to be.

Lets face it: Jamaica is having a moment, said Lee Jasper,a civil rights advocate. For an island of 2.7 million people,if you look at the sports and the culture and the music,theyre 8230; he considered for a moment an apt comparison. Well,theyre the Irish.