When Georgia Powell moved to Canada from Jamaica she never imagined that one of her three sons would become an Olympic champion.

Powell is the mother of sprinter Jerome Blake. Her other sons are Jason and Jhavoun.

READ MORE: Blake hits stride with move to Kelowna

She came to Canada, on her own, in 2008 through an employment program so she could give her boys better opportunities in life.

91裸聊视频淎fter two or three years if you work enough then you can take your kids there,91裸聊视频� said Powell.

When Powell first arrived in Canada she started working in Penticton and then moved to Revelstoke.

All that time she was without her children (they were cared for by their grandmother), but she did have a friend who was in the program with her.

91裸聊视频淚t was hard at first,91裸聊视频� she said.

In 2013, Powell married her husband, who is also from Jamaica and was finally able to bring her boys to Kelowna.

91裸聊视频淚t was so good, you couldn91裸聊视频檛 believe it like you91裸聊视频檝e won the lotto,91裸聊视频� she said of reuniting with her sons.

Powell and her husband divorced four years later, and they remain friends.

As they settled into their new home, Jerome and Jhavoun discovered track and field and football at Rutland Senior Secondary (RSS), while Jason attended Okanagan College. He is now a plumber and pipefitter in Calgary.

Jhavaoun is currently attending Gannon University in Pennsylvania on a football scholarship, and Jerome played for the Okanagan Sun before dedicating himself to track.

91裸聊视频淚 wouldn91裸聊视频檛 think Jhavoun would be playing football. Jason was doing carpentry, mason work, and construction before (in Jamaica). I didn91裸聊视频檛 think he would actually be going to school.91裸聊视频�

While Jerome was first drawn to football at RSS, Powell said it was track and field coach Peter McCall who recognized his potential as a world-class sprinter.

91裸聊视频淭hat man is amazing. He played a vital part in Jerome91裸聊视频檚 and Jhavoun91裸聊视频檚 lives.91裸聊视频�

The pair would also hone their sprinting skills on the running track at the Apple Bowl.

Raising three boys on her own was difficult, Powell said, and there wasn91裸聊视频檛 always the money to pay for sports-related fees and equipment. She said support from RSS faculty and staff, friends, and co-workers helped tremendously.

91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檓 really grateful for all the help and support Jerome gets from everybody in Kelowna.91裸聊视频�

Powell noted that her sons never complained, but were instead satisfied with whatever they had.

91裸聊视频淏ecause we got love and that91裸聊视频檚 the thing I think that kept us going. We had each other.91裸聊视频�

The day Jerome won a medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (held in 2021 due to COVID-19) is one that Powell will never forget.

READ MORE: 91裸聊视频楤et on yourself, always91裸聊视频�: Kelowna91裸聊视频檚 Jerome Blake reflects on Olympic bronze

It was around 6:30 a.m. when she walked into the theatre at Heritage Retirement Residence in West Kelowna, where she works, and every single resident and staff member was there to watch him race.

91裸聊视频淚 started crying because I couldn91裸聊视频檛 believe it,91裸聊视频� she said. 91裸聊视频淚t was a celebration in there I91裸聊视频檓 telling you. They91裸聊视频檙e like my family away from home.91裸聊视频�

Jerome, and teammates Aaron Brown, Brendon Rodney and Andre De Grasse won bronze in the 4X100m relay. Those medals were upgraded to silver last year after a positive doping test on the British team.

The Canadian team will receive their new medals at the 2023 Bell Canadian Track and Field Championships in Langley July 29 where Jerome is competing in several events.

Powell, who doesn91裸聊视频檛 get to see her son run very often, will be in the crowd.

91裸聊视频淚 never expected he would go to the Olympics. He never gives up. I91裸聊视频檓 so proud of him.91裸聊视频�

So what advice does a mother, who took on adversity and triumphed, give to her sons?

91裸聊视频淎lways remember that you can91裸聊视频檛 do nothing without God,91裸聊视频� said Powell. 91裸聊视频淚 tell them be grateful for what you have, respect others, have manners, be honest, and give everything you do 100 per cent. 91裸聊视频淚t doesn91裸聊视频檛 matter where you come from, it matters where you91裸聊视频檙e going.91裸聊视频�

READ MORE: Dream homes for the entire family after Kamloops woman hits $35M jackpot

gary.barnes@kelownacapnews.com
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