Bermuda’s athletes got an unexpected bonus during their Carifta Games experience by meeting Usain Bolt on their way back from the Track and Field Championships in Grenada.

Amara Samuels, Kelise Wade, Arima Turner and Tatiana Sousa on Wednesday had a photo opportunity at Miami International Airport with the retired Jamaican sprinter, who is widely regarded as the fastest man alive. Bolt holds the world records for the 100 metres, 200 metres and 4x100 metres relay.

Bermuda holds a special place in the heart of the eight-times Olympic gold medal-winner. It was on the National Sports Centre track that a 17-year-old Bolt broke the world junior record, running 19.93 at the 2004 Carifta Games.

While American Erriyon Knighton now holds that record after clocking 19.49 in 2022, Bolt’s time is still to be surpassed at the Carifta Games.

Samuels, who ran a personal best 11.97sec in the girls under-17 100 and 25.17 in the 200 on her second appearance at the Games, was humbled to meet Bolt.

“It was an honour to meet an athlete who has been able to reach such a high level of competing in track and field,” the 15-year-old said.

“We were simply sitting down waiting for our flight to board and our coaches told us that Usain Bolt had just passed us.

“At first we didn’t believe them but when we took a closer look, we recognised that it was him and we ran over to take a picture with him.

“I was so grateful that he stopped for us as he was in a rush to catch his next flight. Even though we only got to meet him for a quick moment, it was a very inspiring encounter, especially after coming back from Carifta.

“Getting to see an athlete who inspires me gave me more motivation to continue to push myself and work hard so that one day I can achieve my goals.

“It was a shock to meet him as I have studied his race model as he is on the taller side of sprinters like myself.

“Many times I have changed things that I do during my race to things that he has expressed that have helped him achieve faster times and gold medals. What an experience.”