Jones awarded Order of Belize
Many pundits who previewed the hectic schedule planned for Marion Jones predicted that by her second day, if Marion had not tired of Belize, Belize certainly would have tired of Marion. Never were the words “not so” more appropriate. Not only do Belizeans seem to grow more enamored of the Olympic champion with each passing hour, but Marion herself has displayed such a range of intellect, emotion and sheer personality that the likes of Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan and even a young Muhammed Ali almost pale in comparison. On Wednesday night the world’s greatest female athlete was made an ambassador of sports and presented with the Order of Belize by Prime Minister Said Musa. By the time her acceptance speech was finished, there was not a dry eye in the house.
Prime Minister Said Musa
“Marion, on the behalf of the government and the people of Belize we are honoured to salute you, this remarkable young Olympian by appointing you Belize’s Ambassador for Sports. And Marion, in recognition of your extraordinary and outstanding achievements in the field of sports, acknowledging your contribution to the image of Belize at home and abroad, and In appreciation of your role as a model and inspiration to young Belizeans, I am privileged to confer on you one of our country’s highest national honours, the Order of Belize.”
Marion Jones
“What an evening, what and evening. This is a remarkable honour and I feel privileged to be standing here in front of you tonight and celebrating all of my accomplishments, my family’s accomplishments and everyone’s accomplishments. I am only twenty-five years old and sitting down there tonight and listening to my family and friends talk about me, gosh, I sound and felt like I was forty. But it seems like a long time. I remember visiting Belize when I was how old ma? About eight years old and falling in love with this place that I’d heard so much about. And ever since then, I’ve come back several times to see my family and to celebrate Belize’s beauty, its nature, its people, its soul.”
“And so after I graduated college in 1997 and made the decision to compete in athletics full time, I knew that it was more than just running out there on the track, I knew I was out there for a reason. And perhaps at twenty-one years old I didn’t realise what that reason was. I knew I enjoyed track and field, I enjoyed my sports, but I knew deep down that I was out there for a deeper more meaningful reason.”
“And so in June of 200 when I made my first Olympic team, and it was my first, I still wondered, gosh it’s a wonderful sport and I’m having a ball, but why, why am I doing all of this? And so in September of 2000 when I travelled to Sydney, Australia and I went in there with the bold statement of saying I was going to win five gold medals, I still wondered, why am I really, really doing this? I’m loving it, I’m having a ball, but there is something more, I can’t really put my hand on it? And so I crossed the finish line for the hundred metres final and I won by the way (crowd and Marion laughs)… And I crossed that finish line and immediately saw my family I knew what it was all about (voice breaking)… it was about family. (Crowd cheers).”
The award ceremony was originally scheduled for the National Stadium, but at the last minute had to be moved to City Centre due to rain. The transition went smoothly, however, and congratulations are in order to all those government employees, performers and members of the media who worked so hard to make the event a success.
