HISTORY OF JAMAICAN ATHLETICS
This article is about the athletics in Jamaica from the 1930s to 1980s.
In 75 years, Jamaica has won 38 Commonwealth Golds, 12 World Championship Golds and 13 Olympic gold medals in athletics alone. Jamaica has a population of 2.6 million people the 137th biggest country in the world by population. Their current Gross domestic Product (GDP) nominally is $11.2 billion which ranks 108th in the world.
1930s
In 1930, Jamaica entered its first-ever athletics team into an international competition. It was the 1930 Central American and Caribbean Games. Joseph Mackenzie won a silver medal in the high jump with a jump of 1.75 m. In 1934 Jamaica entered their first ever team into the British Empire Games (now known as the Commonwealth Games) the team won a silver in swimming and Bernard Leopold Prendergast won a bronze in the discus throw with a throw of 40.23 m. This was their first major athletics medal.
1940s
The first part of the forties was interrupted by the Second World War. 3 years after the war in 1948, Jamaica made their first ever Olympic appearance at the London Olympics and surprised the world by winning 1 gold and two silvers. These medals were won by Arthur Wint and Herbert Mckenley and started a great sprinting tradition. These two men are regarded as the pioneers of Jamaican athletics. In the 400 m final McKenley ran out of steam in the last 100 m and Wint passed him to become Jamaica’s first Olympic Gold Medallist. Wint narrowly missed out on a Gold in the 800 m but still went home a hero.
1950s
In the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, Jamaican heroes Arthur Wint and Herb Mckenley were back along with George Rhoden and Leslie Laing. Together these four made up the gold medal winning 4x400 m relay team becoming the only team other than the Americans to hold a 4x400 m world record by running 3:03.9 in the final. George Rhoden led a Jamaican one-two with Herb Mckenley in the (individual) 400 m and Mckenley won his second silver in the closest 100 m in Olympic history. Wint won another silver in the 800 m. Jamaica finished a remarkable 13th in the medal table ahead of the likes of Japan, Great Britain and Canada.
At the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, Jamaica won one gold courtesy of Keith Gardner in the 120 yard hurdles. Jamaica sent one sole competitor to the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne. It was Keith Gardner but he failed to get through the first round leaving Jamaica with no medals.
At the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, Jamaica won a record haul of 4 golds, 2 silvers and 1 bronze. Paul Foreman led a Jamaican one-two with Deryck Taylor in the long jump, Ernest Haisley won gold in high jump and Keith Gardner retained his 120yards hurdle title by setting a new commonwealth record of 14.0 seconds and won another gold in the 100yards.
1960s
For the 1960 Olympics, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados entered a joint team known as the British West Indies Federation (BWI). The team won two bronzes from George Kerr in the 800 m and the men’s 4 x 400 m relay team of Kerr, James Wedderburn, Keith Gardner and Malcolm Spence.
At the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Jamaica won two athletics golds. One in the Men’s 440 yards from George Kerr and one from the Men’s 4x440yards team of Kerr, Lawrence Khan, Malcolm Spence and Mellville Spence. Kerr then followed up with silver in the 880 yards.
Unfortunately at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 Jamaica failed to win any medals. The 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were the first to be held in Jamaica and the first outside the “White Commonwealth”. Much to the disappointment of the Kingston crowd, Jamaica didn’t win any gold medals. Carmen Smith and Una Morris became Jamaica's first major female athletics medalists by winning a silver and bronzes respectively. The Jamaican Men’s 4x110yards team of Lynnsworth Headley, Mike Fray, Pablo McNeill and Wellesley Clayton also got silver and there were another three bronzes won by the team on the track.
At the 1968 Olympics Lennox Miller won a silver medal behind record breaking Jim Hines in the 100 m and the Jamaican 4x100 m relay team was a huge gold medal prospect as they had the 100 m silver medalist Lennox Miller, they smashed the world record in the heats but Errol Stewart, Mike Fray, Clifton Forbes and Lennox Miller could only manage fourth place in the final and looked on as the Americans broke the world record they had set only a day before. Jamaica left Mexico with a sole silver medal.
1970s
In 1970, Jamaica equalled its 1958 record haul in the 1970 British Commonwealth Games of 4 golds 2 silvers and a bronze. Marilyn Neufville won gold for Jamaica in the 400 m after switching to Jamaica from her adopted nation, Great Britain. A nineteen year old Donald Quarrie won two golds by winning the sprint double and led a one-two with Lennox Miller in the 100 m. The men’s 4x100 m team of Carl Lawson, Don Quarrie, Erroll Stewart and Lennox Miller also won gold.
At the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, it was once again Lennox Miller that won the sole medal this time it was bronze.
The 1974 British Commonwealth Games were held in Christchurch, New Zealand. Quarrie retained his Commonwealth Gold Medals.
In 1976 Donald Quarrie managed to become Jamaica’s first Olympic champion in 24 years when he won the 200 m at the Montreal Olympics. Quarrie also finished second in the 100 m, which earned him a silver medal.
In 1978 Donald Quarrie won the 100 m Commonwealth Gold for the third time in a row. The Men’s 4x400 m relay team of Bertland Cameron, Clive Barriffe, Colin Bradford and Floyd Brown won silver. Colin Bradford won bronze in the 200 m and another bronze with the Men’s 4x100 m team of Errol Quarrie, Floyd Brown and Oliver Heywood.
1980s
At the 1980 Moscow Olympics, Jamaica won two bronze medals in athletics. Those medals came thanks to Donald Quarrie in the 200 m and 20 year old Merlene Ottey who became the first female athlete from an English speaking Caribbean island to win an Olympic medal after winning bronze in the 200 m.
The 1982 Commonwealth Games was where Ottey won her first gold medal, in the 200 m by setting a new commonwealth record of 22.19 seconds. She also won silver in the 100 m and helped the Jamaican women’s 4x100 m team of Cathy Rattray-Williams, Grace Jackson and Leileth Hodges to bronze. Bertland “Bert” Cameron became 400 m Commonwealth champion winning him Jamaica Sportsman of the year.
In 1983, the first ever World Championships in Athletics were held. This gave Jamaican athletes more opportunities to win major medals. Bert Cameron became the first ever 400 m World Champion. Merlene Ottey also got silver in the 200 m. The women's 4x100 m team (Leleith Hodges, Jacqueline Pusey, Juliet Cuthbert, and Merlene Ottey) also won a bronze medal.
At the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984, Merlene Ottey-Page won two bronzes (in the 100 and 200 m). The Men’s 4x100 m team of Albert Lawrence, Gregory Meghoo, Donald Quarrie and Raymond Stewart won Olympic silver as well.
Jamaica boycotted the 1986 Commonwealth Games over Margaret Thatcher's stance on aparthied era South Africa.
They were however at the 1987 World Athletics Championships. There were no gold medallists but Raymond Stewart won silver in the 100 m and Merlene Ottey won two more bronzes (again in the 100 m and 200 m) to put in her medal cabinet. The Men’s 4x100 m team of John Mair, Andrew Smith, Clive Wright and Raymond Stewart won another bronze to add to the medal tally.
At the 1988 Olympics in Seoul Grace Jackson won one silver in the 200 m and so did the men’s 4x400 m relay team of Howard Davis, Devon Morris, Winthrop Graham and Bert Cameron. Surprisingly Merlene Ottey didn’t win any medals at these games.
Modern Accomplishments in Athletics
REFERENCES:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2010/apr/01/jamaican-champs-athletics
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_in_Jamaica
