Fellow Jamaican and former Windies pace ace Michael Holding chuffed at sprinter Usain Bolt's third 100m Olympic gold and his country's sprint show in Rio
Exactly 40 years ago, in the dry English summer of 1976, Jamaican paceman Michael Holding was on his way to lighting up the Oval in London with a match haul of 14 wickets that helped West Indies win the fifth Test for a 3-0 series win margin.
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Michael Holding. Pic/Getty Images
On Sunday, Holding was at the same venue a few hours before his compatriot Usain Bolt blazed to glory in the 100m final at Rio.
Holding, a huge Bolt fan was confident of the Jamaican sprinter's victory never mind the hamstring injury which put a light question mark over his Rio Olympics participation and the hype surrounding his rival Justin Gatlin.
'Like Ali, Pele and Jordan'
"I can safely say I was never in doubt that Usain Bolt would win again and in fact, I gave a fellow commentator in the SKY (commentary) box odds of 5/1 that Gatlin would not beat him," Holding told mid-day from the UK yesterday.
"The man is great and, as he said about the legacy he wanted to leave behind, he will now easily be mentioned in the same breath as Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan and Pele," Holding added. On Saturday, Jamaica's Elaine Thompson won the women's 100m while training partner Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce clinched bronze.
Usain Bolt with the Jamaican flag after winning the 100m final in Rio on Sunday. Pics/Getty Images
Holding remarked: "The women have made us very proud as well with Jamaica getting first, third and fourth spot. Can you imagine that? Three of the world's four fastest women are from the little island of Jamaica and considering our population, that has got to be the greatest sporting achievement of a nation and Jamaica has to be crowned the sprint champions of the world by a distance."
Holding (62), who played 60 Tests for the West Indies between 1975 and 1987, is somehow believed to have been an athlete before excelling with the new ball. Cricket lovers attributed his smooth rhythmic run-up to his so-called athletics background. But he busted the myth in his last autobiography 'No Holding Back'.
He wrote: "It is widely perceived that my languid run-up when bowling, which has been described as 'elegant' and 'malevolent stealth personified' (very flattering), was a product of my promise as a 400-metre runner. It makes a nice story but it is not true in the least.
Busting a myth
"To this day I still tell people that it was a mistake but the response is usually that they think I'm just being modest. One gentleman went as far as to tell me, 'I saw you run for Jamaica.' I had to tell him politely that he was mistaken." A West Indian journalist got Holding mixed up with Seymour Newman, who opened the bowling with Holding in Jamaican under-19 team.
Newman went on to win silver in the 800m at the 1978 Commonwealth Games and was first to beat the great Cuban Alberto Juantorena in the 400m at the Central American and Caribbean Championships in 1977.
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