Statue of Herb McKenley by Basil Watson Commissioned by Government

The Government of Jamaica through the Sports Development Foundation (SDF), an agency of the Ministry of Information, Culture, Youth and Sports, has entered into an agreement with Basil Watson, sculptor, for him to create a statue of sports icon, the Honourable Herb McKenley, to be mounted at Statue Road in Independence Park.
Unveiling is scheduled for November 2009.
The contract was signed by the Minister, the Honourable Olivia “Babsy” Grange and Mr. Watson at the offices of the Ministry this evening (December 19).
The Herb McKenley statue will be approximately one-and-one-quarter life size or approximately seven-and-half to eight feet high. It will be made of bronze. It will depict Herb, who was one of the greatest Jamaican athletes ever, in running action, victoriously breaking the tape at the finish line.
The statue will be mounted on a pedestal similar to the pedestals on which three other runners, Merlene Ottey, Donald Quarrie and the late Arthur Wint on Statue Road, are mounted.
Minister Grange said it had been proposed to erect a monument which would have been in tribute to Mr. McKenley and all other Jamaican Olympians. “This will still be done but not right now. The monument would not have been ready to coincide with the second anniversary of Herb’s passing as the statue will be.”
The Sports Minister said the Government was undertaking the preliminaries, including design, for the creation of the monument and park in tribute to “all of our Olympians” and will be seeking funding for the erection of the monument and park as well as for a sports museum.