牙買加的秘密——特裏洛尼山藥的力量 (圖)

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博爾特為什麽拒絕去美國？
作者 楊成

你知道嗎，牙買加長期以來都盛產飛人，卻從沒有一個為牙買加奪得男子百米的奧運金牌，這是因為那些極具天賦的選手很難阻擋“移民發達國家”的誘惑。然而，烏賽因•博爾特（Usain Bolt）把他的成功獻給了牙買加，他甚至拒絕了來自美國大學的邀請。

Getty Images供圖
牙買加和牙買加人是博爾特的力量源泉

力量來自山藥

賽後接受記者采訪時，博爾特聲稱自己比賽前吃的是雞塊。

外電甚至考證出，他吃的是奧運村裏的麥當勞的麥辣雞塊，比賽的當天他共去了兩次麥當勞。

不過，他的爸爸老博爾特可沒有把兒子的成功和美國快餐連鎖店扯在一起。

8月16日，老博爾特在接受路透社采訪時聲稱，兒子從小吃山藥，此次奪金絕對要歸功於“特裏洛尼山藥的力量”。

特裏洛尼是博爾特的故鄉，也是牙買加最大的山藥產地。

牙買加每年出口到美國、加拿大和英國的山藥中，有一半產自特裏洛尼。每年的3月，“特裏洛尼山藥節”（Trelawny Yam Festival）都會吸引成千上萬的遊客，並被稱為“牙買加原生食品節”。

因此，老博爾特的言辭聽起來就像施瓦辛格說自己的一身肌肉全靠加州盛產的葡萄一樣。

不過，山藥是牙買加乃至整個加勒比海岸最常見的食物，偏偏牙買加又有生產世界飛人的傳統，誰敢說這兩者到底有沒有關係呢？

拒絕了美國大學的青睞

數十年來，美國大學一直有給牙買加優秀高中生運動員獎學金的傳統。

往往是一個年輕的高中生冠軍剛剛誕生，轉眼就去了美國不再回來。

2004年，18歲的博爾特在雅典奧運會上意外受傷，在200米首輪就以很不理想的成績遭淘汰。

不過，他的天賦有目共睹，美國的好幾所大學隨即給他提供了獎學金。

牙買加是一個小國，經濟條件和訓練設施都遠遠落後於歐美等國，這種誘惑很難抵擋。

正因為如此，牙買加長期以來都麵臨“盛產飛人，卻從來沒有一個為牙買加奪得男子奧運百米金牌”的尷尬局麵

——在博爾特之前，曆史上曾有三名牙買加人奪得奧運男子100米金牌，分別是

本•約翰遜（Ben Johnson）1988年為加拿大奪得（後因禁藥事件被取消），

克裏斯蒂（Linford Christie）1992年為英國奪得，

多諾萬•貝利（Donovan Bailey）1996年為加拿大奪得。

近年來，牙買加的訓練設施正在逐漸改善。

但最終讓博爾特留下的，卻是他大大咧咧的個性，他說自己在牙買加生活習慣了，根本不想動身去美國。

拒絕了美國大學後，博爾特每天開著自己的本田雅閣去牙買加理工大學（Jamaica\'s University of Technology）上學和訓練。

更多精彩鏈接

Trelawny Yam Festival,Jamaica\'s Original Food Festival
Bolt\'s gold down to yam power, father says



Main Page The Events History Become A Sponsor TYF Merchandise All About Yam Previous Festivals Trelawny Yam Festival 2007 Recap
Come Easter Monday all roads lead to the cool hills of Trelawny for the annual Trelawny Yam Festival. The purpose of the Trelawny Yam Festival is to provide an event which celebrates the rich culture and heritage of Trelawny and of Cockpit Country, an integral part of which is the cultivation of yams. The goals of the Festival are:

(1) To promote the consumption of yam and encourage the development of value added by-products to develop the local economy

(2) To promote the culture and heritage of Trelawny

(3) To provide the opportunity for investment and the development of alternative business activity

(4) To promote south Trelawny and Cockpit Country as a destination for community and eco-tourism.

This one of a kind cultural and heritage festival draws on average 10,000 patrons each year and has grown from a one day event to seven days of celebrations culminating in Grand Yam Festival Day on Easter Monday. The overwhelming success of the festival has convinced Trelawny residents that this event must become a continuous and integral part of the economic and cultural life of the yam producing basket of Jamaica.

As the culmination of a month of events promoting Trelawny, the aim of Grand Yam Festival Day is to showcase the overall community of Trelawny and its environs, focusing on the production of yam, yam by-products and the internationally acclaimed bio-diverse wilderness of Cockpit Country. The major activities planned for Grand Yam Festival Day include the following:

Community Showcase: Cockpit Country communities are targeted to conceptualize a booth showcasing their community. With assistance from the Yam Festival planning committee, communities determine the unique culture, products, heritage and talents of their community and display themselves to Festival patrons.

Culinary Competition: The Culinary Competition showcases the wide array of food items that can be made from the yam. The dishes entered into the competition range from traditional Jamaican dishes to contemporary foreign foods with a yam twist. Local residents, schools and major hotels face off in separate competitions. Dishes are sampled by judges to determine winners. Festival patrons have the opportunity to sample all dishes and vote in the Taster\'s Choice category.

Cultural Performances: Cultural Groups from across the island are invited to perform on the main stage. A wide cross-section of performance types are used to give visitors an accurate representation of the diversity of Jamaican culture. Winners from the Schools Song, Poetry & Dance Competition are also be invited to perform at the Festival.

Yam By-products Display: Local producers of yam by-products are employed by Festival organizers to develop yam by-products to be sampled and sold at the Festival. Proper packaging, labeling and marketing strategies are developed by Festival organizers to ensure high quality product offerings. This attraction provides visitors with an opportunity to take a piece of local Jamaican culture home with them.

Yam Market: Local farmer\'s groups are invited to develop a yam market to provide local, fresh yam for sale to Festival patrons.

Evening Stage Show: Select nationally and internationally recognized performing artists perform at an evening stage show. The stage show attempts to capture Jamaican culture and the current state of Jamaican music and acts as a Festival highlight to cap off the day\'s activities.

Promoted by: Southern Trelawny Environmental Agency

Title Sponsor: Cockpit Country Adventure Tours


Bolt\'s gold down to yam power, father says
Sat 16 Aug 2008, 14:38 GMT

[-] Text [+] By Horace Helps

KINGSTON, Jamaica (Reuters) - Usain Bolt streaked to 100 metres Olympic gold at the Beijing Olympics on Saturday thanks to yam power, his father said.

Wellesley Bolt said his son was partial to the vegetable grown in the north-western area of Jamaica where the sprinter was born.

It is definitely the Trelawny yam, Bolt senior told Reuters seconds after his son smashed the world record on the way to landing the biggest gold medal in sport.

The yam grown in the parish Trelawny is one of the staples that has made the area famous. It is sold in huge volumes here and much of it is exported. Citizens of the area believe that it has medicinal properties.

I was very nervous before the race, my heart was pumping. I spoke to him about two days ago and told him that I was getting nervous and he said \'don\'t worry Dad, I am going to win this one for you\', Wellesley told Reuters from his home, less than 30 minutes drive from the western tourist city of Montego Bay.

My house has been taken over by more than 100 people from inside and outside the community.

They are waving flags, beating drums and just making a lot of noise. But this is a special moment and to know that a Jamaican has done this and I am the father of that Jamaican makes me feel special.

I never expected him to break the world record, but I am proud of my son.

Bolt senior said he sympathised with compatriot Asafa Powell who finished a disappointing fifth.

That was surprising to me. I really feel it for Asafa because I felt that he should have performed better, he said.

Bolt\'s sister Sherine said she knew he would break the world record.

I expected my brother to win the race and I told my daddy last night that he would do 9.68 seconds. He didn\'t quite do that, but I am happy still, Sherine said.