Authors Michael Grant and Hubert Lawrence joined forces with several stakeholders to launch the book, 50 Days Afire, première the documentary Finding Foster, unveil his portrait as well as honor Olympian Deon Hemmings-McCatty at G.C. Foster College on Thursday.
Michael Grant said the book “might be the best book ever written on Jamaica’s athletics because a lot of it reads like a spy novel, some of it reads like an adventure story, some of it reads like a romance, (and) some of it reads like a thriller. It’s the kind of thing you kind of can’t put down because what we have done is to allow each of the races to have its own personality. Each of the races has its own life story and so far from just being a description from who won what, when, it goes beyond that to get into the heads of our athletes, into the heads of our rivals, administrators and a lot of people who are surrounding the races.”
Regarding the G.C. Foster documentary Finding Foster, Grant said: “He was a lot better of a sprinter than I thought when I started the project because the information just wasn’t out there and I don’t think he boasted a lot about it when he was finished on the track, so when we searched and realized that he won so much and beat so many big names it really made the project have a different color all together.
“We were looking at a genuine bona fide superstar, the first one so he turned out to be a very assuming character but no less of a hero.”
He also said the research was extensive and covered many countries.
Lawrence spoke about some of the athletes in the book. “1991 Ottey gets gold in the 4×1, the woman who turned a sprinter to a marathon. That’s how they captured on the IAAF. So we have captured that and what it meant to Jamaica and Ottey. Deon Hemmings win in 1996. Those types of turning point moments are captured in the book so a new generation can pick it up and get excited about it.”
Hemmings-McCatty, Jamaica’s first Olympics female gold medalist, spoke about her 400m hurdles gold in 1996, “It’s a really good feeling. I had put in the work. I remember when I was in Texas training, the group of athletes on the other end normally say to me why you always running around the track? And to know where I came from, how hard I worked when I was in college, before I got to college I was not one of the top junior athletes but I got in and I took advantage of the opportunity, I worked hard and I was victorious and I am really happy that I put in the work and it paid off, so if you work hard you can do well. I can attest to that.”
She spoke about the state of Jamaica’s track and field at this time, “we are doing well. I think there’s a lot more work to be done but we are getting there and we are working on it and I am pretty proud of what’s going on so far.”
According to Gibbs Williams, vice principal of G.C. Foster College, “when Kingston Communications approached us to partner with them in launching the book 50 Days Afire (and premier Finding Foster) we felt obliged to accept, we felt honored as a matter of fact. Remember G.C. Foster the man, this institution was named after him and so we thought that it would be a win-win situation for us, it would give the college the sort of mileage that we are looking for and also to bring this event to the home of athletics.” He also said he was pleased to host three of G.C. Foster’s granddaughters who attended the event.
The grandchildren Heather Chin, Andre Roberts and Debbie Jardine were pleased with the reception and respect given to their grandfather.
“We are totally honored to be here, very proud of our grandfather and feel honored to be his granddaughter,” said Chin, while Roberts said, “I too am very proud of him and really feel honored to be his granddaughter and we are learning a lot from you people too.”
For Jardine, “it is just really amazing to us that you guys have kept his legacy alive. It says a lot for the school that they have kept his name.”
The special award to Deon Hemmings-McCatty was initiated by local gaming brand AnyBet, the title sponsor of the book, film and launch event. Grants for research and production were also provided by NCB Capital Markets, Sherwin-Williams, Sports Development Foundation and Tastee Ltd., while other sponsorship was provided by G.C. Foster College, Supreme Outdoor Advertising, TrackAlerts.com and WISYNCO Ltd.
