There is something beautiful and redemptive in this. Something that suggests there is the possibility that Jamaica is able to compete on many levels, in many arenas -- commerce, technology, agriculture -- if it finds a way to harness the spirit of its sprinters and sell it. If it does, it will be following in the footprints of Puma, which used Jamaican iconography, including images of rastamen doing yoga poses and church ladies in cat-eyed glasses, to re-energize its brand in 2003.

Jamaica is a country in crisis. In addition to its high murder rate, it has one of the world's highest rates of international debt. But Jamaica is a place where people have always managed to survive. The Jamaican people have perfected the art of making simple survival feel more like a celebration. They dance and make love and drink rum and plan for their children's futures even as loved ones get murdered or succumb to disease. Defiance is a way of life.

I remember seeing videotapes of Mr. Bolt winning ......