Marion Jones, the fastest woman athlete in the world and the winner of
three gold medals (and two bronze) at the Sydney Olympics has accepted
an
appointment to be Belize's Sports Ambassador at Large.

Marion was in Sydney, Australia when she received a surprise message
from
Prime Minister Said Musa, inviting her to become Belize's Ambassador at
Large and conferring on her the high honour of the Order of Belize.

Sports conscious Belizeans will be thrilled to learn that the star
athlete
of track & field will be coming to Belize sometime soon to accept the
award. She has sent a message to the people of Belize saying that they
are
constantly in her thoughts. She had heard about Hurricane Keith and
continues to keep herself informed of the evolving situation.

Marion's message to Belizeans states:

"My heart goes out to all the people of Belize who are suffering from
the
hurricane. You should know that people all over the world who don't even
know you are pulling for you and hoping and praying for your safety. You
are especially constantly in my thoughts and I look forward to being
with
you in the near future. God bless you all."

I was thrilled to read of the honours that are being bestowed on Marion Jones by Belize.

What an incredible moment it was when she won the 100 mtrs - and her very first Olympic gold medal.

Sheer exhuberance and pride shone from her as she did her lap of honour. I cried buckets when she stopped to hug her family and she was handed the Flag of Belize. For those who missed this magic moment, it was amazing.

I watched in awe as the fastest woman in the world ran around the Olympic track to deafening applause, carrying flags of both the USA and Belize - and for quite some time holding the Belize flag high and wide above her head. She showed millions and millions of people around the world how proud she was of her roots.

The wonderful facilities that the USA offers it athletes must be acknowledged and praised as they nuture and encourage talent such as this.

Although the array of medals she won were notched on the belt of the USA, and she stood on the podium and watched the rise of the Stars 'n Stripes, her actions on the track showed that she wanted to share her moment of glory with Belize.