Arthur Wint is one of the most legendary figures in Jamaican history.

At the 1948 London Olympics, Wint, born on May 25, 1920, became the first Jamaican to ever win an Olympic gold medal when he finished on top in the 400m, ahead of pre-race favourite and then-world record holder, countryman Herb McKinley. That was after a silver medal-winning performance in the 800m.

Wint, who died in 1992 at the age of 72, also won a pair of medals at the Helsinki Olympics four years after his exploits in London.

He would’ve been 103 years old on Thursday and, fittingly, that was the day chosen for the official launch of the children’s book “Arthur Loves to Run,” written by one of Wint’s three daughters, Colleen Wint-Bond.

The launch was held at the headquarters of the Jamaica Administrative Athletics Association.

“I want to share the Olympic message of excellence and perseverance. I also want to encourage children to be friendly with other people, even if they are your competitors and to be kind and respect each other,” Wint-Bond told SportsMax.TV when asked about the message she wants people to receive when reading the book.

“When you’re competing, there are so many things that can go wrong and because one thing goes wrong doesn’t mean that you have to stop. Not everybody is made out to be a footballer or singer or whatever, but to feel the passion of what they want to do and to persevere with that. I also want to encourage the adults to support the children and to encourage them. It might not last a lifetime but the encouragement is important because that’s where some of their self-worth is rooted,” she added.

Wint-Bond also hopes the book will educate young minds on the history of her father’s passion for sport.

“Wherever he was in his life, until he couldn’t do it anymore, he loved to run. When he was training to be a pilot and he went to Canada, he ran and won races there while learning to ice skate. He enjoyed sport and, so, continue doing what your passion is and keep at it,” she said.

Illustration for the book was done by Patrick Meikle, an experience he described as “educational.”

“The process was a very slow but collaborative one between myself and Colleen. We did funnel a lot of our process with real life references and, as she mentioned, a lot of videos, images and history,” he said.

“I think my goal in supporting this effort was to best represent the appeal I found in her father because in this process I got to learn about the man and the child, Arthur Wint, not just the superstar that we know him to be,” Meikle added.

In addition to his exploits on the track, Wint was a successful doctor and pilot.

Wint-Bond says his experiences in those professions will form the backdrop for a pair of books in the future, completing a trilogy.

“Arthur Loves to Run” can be purchased on Amazon and is available in Jamaica at Kozy Korner Books N More.

Leslie Alphonso "Les" Laing, a member of Jamaica’s gold medal-winning mile relay team at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki has died.