KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaica’s flag-bearer at the London 2012 Olympic Games is due to be selected today. 

The wildly obvious choice would seem to be Usain Bolt, given his three Beijing gold medals and exploits on the international stage. 

But who else could be our standard-bearer?

There are seemingly no official criteria for the role but it has to be someone who the athletes and team officials all agree on. Of the present crop Veronica Campbell-Brown had the honours once.

So what does one look for? Star-quality? Likeability? A clean image? An inspirational story?  Durability?

Sprint hurdler Bridgitte Foster-Hylton is a strong contender for the role, possessing all of the above qualities and then some. 

Foster-Hylton has won all three medal-colours in the 100m hurdles at the World Championships, the last coming with her win in Berlin in 2009. 

Despite that success, she’s yet to earn an Olympic medal in three appearances.  This may be the year that changes; it’s almost certainly her last opportunity at 37. Foster-Hylton heads into London as the second fastest woman in the world and will be gunning to show why she was named the best athlete in the event by Track and Field News for the decade 2000 to 2009.

It remains to be seen if Foster-Hylton’s record is enough to clear the hurdles set by Bolt’s superhuman efforts in the sprint double, holding the world record in both events.

Not that Bolt needs a case to be made for his selection as Jamaica’s flag bearer, but a woman has played the esteemed role at the last six editions of the Games, Campbell-Brown the latest at the 2008 Beijing Games.