Which Jamaican national honour was Usain Bolt appointed to in 2009?

Usain Bolt was appointed to Jamaica’s Order of Jamaica in 2009.

The appointment recognised his outstanding international achievements in athletics, especially his historic performance at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. At those Games, Bolt won the 100 metres, 200 metres and 4×100 metres relay, setting world records in all three events at the time.

Bolt received the honour at age 23 and became the youngest member of the Order of Jamaica up to that point. The order is one of Jamaica’s highest national honours and is commonly regarded as broadly equivalent to a knighthood in the British honours system. Its members may use the post-nominal letters OJ, and Bolt may be formally styled “The Honourable.”

The main mix-up is with the Order of Distinction. Bolt was appointed a Commander of that order in 2008, receiving the post-nominal CD. The Order of Jamaica came later, in 2009, and ranked above it in the country’s honours system.