27. 1998 World Cup: Jamaica became the first English Speaking Caribbean Country in the World Cup, the team scored 3 goals before they were eliminated. 28. September 10th 2004 - Hurricane Ivan: Apart from Gilbert, Ivan is the second most destructive hurri- cane in Jamaica’s history. With a wind speed of 120 mph, the Category 4 hurricane left 17 dead, many homeless and roadways blocked for weeks. The hurricane lasted in Jamaica for 2 days but schools were not able to begin reopening until 25th Sep- tember 2004. 29. June 14th, 2005 - First World Record: Asafa Powell shared the title of world record holder with the American sprinter Justin Gatlin for 9.77. 30. March 30, 2006 - First Female Prime Minister: The Honourable Portia Simpson Miller became the na- tion’s first female Prime Minister after succeeding P.J. Patterson as leader of the People’s National Party. In 2012, Mrs. Simpson-Miller was listed on Time’s list of 100 most influential people. 31. September 9, 2007: Second World Record: Dubbed the “sub-10 king” Asafa, now 24, beat his old shared World Record to run 9.74 during the IAAF meet in Italy. 32. 2007 - Cricket World Cup: Another big sport on the island, Jamaica had the privilege of hosting the 2007 Cricket World cup. The opening ceremony was held at the Trelawny multi-purpose stadium. 33. 2008 Bejing Olympics - The Bejing Olympics was a great display of Jamaican athleticism which saw to the 11 gold medals the country brought home. Usain Bolt beat the world record held previously by Asafa Powell in the 100 metres, lowering it to 9.68 and in the 200 metres where he ran 19.30. Melanie walker also beat the Olympic record in the Women’s 400-metre hurdles clocking 52.64. The men’s relay quartet also ran and broke the men’s 4x100m relay record however, that medal was removed from the tally after one athlete was convicted of using a banned substance. 34. 2009 - World Record: Usain Bolt broke the 100 and 200-metre records, clocking the fastest times in history, 9.58 and 19.19 respectively. 35. 2010 - Miss Universe: While we still await our Miss Universe title, we have much to celebrate with many top 10 finishes in the competition over the years. Our closest to the title was Yendi Phillips’ first runner-up placement. 36. 2012 - Appleton Rum: The limited Edition 50th Anniversary rum was released for Jamaica’s 50th year of Independence. The bottle is the most expensive bottle of rum to ever be sold in the world. 37. 2012 - 1-2-3 Sweep: With a clean sweep of all the medals in the 100 metres, Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake and Warren Weir got the gold, silver and bronze medals respectively. Jamaica’s 60th Annive rsary 32