Gordon

THE CAPACITY crowd that has packed the Bird's Nest stadium over the past seven days has heard the Jamaica national anthem six times and each time it sounds better

I have seen many teary-eyed Jamaicans bursting with emotions while the anthem is being played and the flag raised.

Veronica Campbell-Brown, more affectionately known as 'VC', took us on another emotional high.The golden girl held her form and sprinted away for an impressive victory, thus defending the 200m title she won in 2004.

Kerron Stewart secured the bronze behind American Allyson Felix, effectively capping the dominance Jamaica have shown in the sprints.

The small island has secured seven of the 12 medals available in the flat sprint events. Truly a remarkable achievement by our athletes.

In some of the other featured events, Dayron Robles of Cuba was poetry in motion as he hurdled to victory in the 110m race. Jamaicans Maurice Wignall and Richard Phillips represented well and we must continue to support these athletes, even when they are not mining gold.

100 per cent

In a brief interview with Wignall, he said every time he steps on the track, he gives it 100 per cent and this is all "to make Jamaica proud". Leevan Sands of the Bahamas won a bronze in the triple jump, giving the Caribbean another medal.

His parents were there to witness the event and, outside the 'Bird's Nest', there were congratulations flowing all around as Jamaican and Bahamian fans expressed support for each other.

Sands' mother spoke of the challenges he had leading up to the Games but was happy that he reaped the benefits of hard work.