Jamaica Chooses Birmingham For 2012
The Jamaican track and field team have joined their US counterparts in signing a deal to use Birmingham as their training camp for the 2012 Olympics.
The deals with the Jamaicans and the United States, which was signed last year, are worth an estimated £15m to Birmingham, the city council said.
It means the world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt, will reside and train at Birmingham University during the run-up to the Games.
Bolt holds both the men’s 100m and 200m world records of 9.58 seconds and 19.19 seconds, respectively.
The Jamaican team, along with their officials, is expected to be at least 60-strong. The team won 11 medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, six of them gold.
The 160-strong US team will also train and reside in the city and surrounding sporting venues.
