03 February,2011 12:20 PM IST | | Agencies
Usain Bolt will be competing at the 2012 London Olympics with the legend of Bob Marley on his shoulders. The world-record holder in the 100 and 200 meters and the rest of his Jamaican track and field teammates will be wearing uniforms designed by the reggae great's daughter, Cedella Marley.
"We both break records," Marley told said on Wednesday. "Marleys. Bolt. Legendary."
Marley, the first-born daughter of Bob and Rita Marley, is a singer, author and fashion designer. She was picked by athletic apparel company Puma, the Jamaican team's sponsor, to create the clothes that the athletes will wear on the track, on the podium and in the ceremonies.
"I can't think of a better person to design our Olympic outfits than Cedella," Bolt said in a statement. "Puma got that right ... hooking up with a legendary Jamaican. "It's going to be inspirational to run in London with that energy surrounding me."
Bolt broke the records in the 100 and 200 at the 2008 Beijing Games, and then did the same at the 2009 world championships in Berlin. With the possible exception of Bob Marley, Bolt is the most famous Jamaican there is.
"Being a Jamaica No 1, being a Marley No 2, and then being able to outfit not only Usain but the entire team, it's a proud moment for all of us, everyone in my family," Marley said. Marley said she took her inspiration for the uniforms from music, various cultures and Jamaica from the 1970s and 80s.
"I want to bring the old and the new Jamaica together," she said. "It should be Grace Jones meets Bob Marley on the track, and we're going to have fire on the field." And when it comes to the uniform Bolt will be wearing next year in London, fans can count on something a little bit different from his teammates.
"We're going to have something special for him. Only for him," said Marley, who has yet to meet Bolt but said she is expecting to work with him in March in Jamaica. "We're going to work together."
The names of Marley and Bolt are probably the two most recognised from Jamaica in the world, so it only made sense to put them together for the Olympics in London. But it took a chance phone meeting between Marley and Puma chairman and CEO Jochen Zeitz to get the collaboration up and running.
"I said, 'Yo Mr Puma, how come you've not done anything with the Marleys? Come on, you know, Puma, Marley, Jamaica. It makes sense'," Marley said. "And he just said, 'Well, you know, Cedella, everything takes time'. And like two weeks later. I got a phone call. I guess it was time."
