( L - R ) BOLT, GOLDING

Prime Minister Bruce Golding has come out in defence of his decision to afford three-time Olympic and world champion Usain Bolt the Order of Jamaica - the nation's fourth-highest honour.

On Monday, Bolt, 23, will become the youngest-ever recipient and only the fourth sports personality to have been so recognised with the prestigious national award after Merlene Ottey, Michael Holding and Courtney Walsh. Bolt was also appointed ambassador-at-large and accorded full diplomatic rights.

However, the decision did not go down too well with some sections of the society.

Some argued that the powerful sprinter, who became the first man to break the 100m and 200m world records at an Olympic Game before resetting his own marks at the recent IAAF World Athletics Champion-ships in Berlin, Germany, was too young to receive such an honour.

The present is best

Golding was not bothered by the critique and took time out during his presentation at Wednesday night's Courtney Walsh Award for Excellence to defend the move and debated that he does not believe the 23-year-old would be able to maintain his standards forever and must be recognised while he was on top of his game.

Said Golding, "I felt that because of the extra-ordinary achievements of Usain Bolt that he deserves the award of the Order of Jamaica.

"That decision has been criticised and people have said that he is too young and that we should wait. I don't think Usain is a superman, I believe he is a superhuman. But he is not going to remain a superhuman forever. I don't think that he is going to be able to break any world records when he is 35 because I don't think that it is physically possible," Golding added.

Besides his feat on the track, Bolt's charismatic and playful persona has endeared him to track enthusiasts across the world and has brought the island into sharper focus.

"I felt that anybody that brought that sense of achievement to Jamaica where he demonstrated not once, not twice that you could establish yourself beyond any doubt as the fastest human being that has ever lived deserves that award," Golding insisted.

Additional reward

The prime minister further argued his case by pointing to a case in the United Kingdom where 33-year-old Scottish cyclist Chris Hoy was recently Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II after securing three Olympic gold medals in Beijing.

In addition to his national accolades, the Government also decided to rename a section of Highway 2000 in the sprinter's honour.

The Order of Jamaica entitles members and honorary members to wear the emblem of the Order as a decoration. They are also to be addressed as 'honourable' and use the post-nominal letters 'OJ' (members) or 'OJ (Hon)' for honorary members.

'I felt that anybody that brought that sense of achievement to Jamaica where he demonstrated not once, not twice that you could establish yourself beyond any doubt as the fastest human being that has ever lived deserves that award.'

- Golding