Hundreds
cheer return of Ato Boldon
AP
9 October 2000 – Port of Spain - Hundreds of fans cheered as Trinidad and Tobago's prime minister welcomed back Olympian Ato Boldon to the Caribbean island.
Many waved the country's red, white and black flag Sunday as they crowded inside the Piarco Airport terminal to catch a glimpse of Boldon, who won a silver medal in the 100-meter dash and the bronze in the 200-meter dash at the Olympic Games in Australia.
Prime Minister Basdeo Panday announced the country would name a planned sports stadium and a high school after the athlete.
The welcome marked the start of a weeklong tour of Trinidad and Tobago. The government is organising youth clinics, receptions and parades for Boldon across the twin-island country.
On Monday, Boldon will attend a luncheon with 150 well-wishers, organisers said. He will tour Trinidad by helicopter on Tuesday, meet with sponsors on Wednesday and put his medals on public display at the Royal Bank Building in Port-of-Spain.
Boldon won bronze medals in the same events in the 1996 games.