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This is Jamaica’s worst Olympic sprinting performance since 1972 – here’s why
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Number of sprint medals for Jamaica so far this Olympics across all of the men’s and women’s sprints? One.
The sum total of Jamaican representation in the final of the men’s 200m on Thursday night? Zero. The final on Friday of the men’s 4x100m relay on Friday? No Jamaican team after a dreadful performance in the heats on Thursday.
For the nation that has ruled sprinting for so long, a country that treats the pursuit of speed like a national sport, it has been an unthinkably painful Olympic Games. The last time Jamaica won a single sprinting medal at the Olympics was at Munich in 1972.
It is a situation that is sparking some deep soul searching in the Caribbean, even if one more unexpectedly upbeat thread of the Jamaican athletics story is how they have so far won four field-events medals.
Two of those are in jumping – where sprint speed is of course invaluable – but one fascinating sub-plot has been in the throwing events, where Rajindra Campbel took shot put bronze and Roje Stona produced an Olympic record-breaking gold in the discus. Stona later revealed that he is seriously considering a career-change away from athletics and into American football.
So are we witnessing a permanent shift away from this super-power of sprinting, or is this better explained by a freak set of circumstances?
Sprint powerhouse have had more injuries than medals
On the latter point, there has certainly been considerable misfortune with injury.
The entire women’s 100m podium from Tokyo – Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shericka Jackson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce - have been missing due to various ailments but they are also all now in their thirties.
Tia Clayton and Brianna Lyston respectively 19 and 20 – head the next generation and have both run under 11 seconds this year. Clayton had actually looked like a medal contender in the women’s 100m after winning her semi-final in 10.89sec, but went backwards when it mattered 90 minutes later and was only seventh in the final.
She has the talent to challenge in future global championships certainly but it still all feels some way off a collective pedigree of a nation that won 15 of the 24 Olympic medals in the women’s 100 and 200 between 2008 and 2021. Indeed, the extent of these shifting sands is well summed up by how Team GB, who are currently spearheaded by Daryll Neita and Dina Asher-Smith, qualified well in front of them for Friday’s 4x100m women’s relay final.
It was a similar story of promise not being matched by performance in the men’s 100m, particularly in the case of Oblique Seville. He had run a 9.81sec personal best while slowing down in the semi-final before going 0.10 slower to finish last in what was an admittedly super-fast final.
Kishane Thompson went close but, unlike Noah Lyles, also could not quite produce his very best when it really counted despite only losing on the dip by five thousandths in a classic men’s 100m Olympic showdown. He has run 9.77sec this year and managed 9.79sec in the final.
Jamaica being harmed by a lack of practice together
At 23, Thompson is clearly a huge talent and will be back. As will Seville, who is the same aged and trained by Glen Mills, the same Jamaican coach who has also guided Zharnel Hughes’ career. They are in separate coaching groups and there was talk after the relay debacle of Jamaica being harmed by a lack of practice together.
Like many nations, there is also the clear sense that Jamaica’s hopes are being impacted by the strength of the United States across almost every track and field discipline in Paris. The collegiate system in the USA – and a new generation of coaches – are consistently producing a remarkable number of world-class athletes that is not just benefiting the US Olympic team. Louis Hinchliffe, Josh Kerr and Amber Anning are all British examples of athletes who may well leave France with an Olympic medal after basing themselves across the Atlantic.
Sebastian Coe, the president of World Athletics, was asked to offer an explanation on Thursday and, while emphasising the concentration of talent in the USA, stressed that sport is very often cyclical and how similar debates were being held elsewhere when Bolt and Asafa Powell were at their zenith. Powell himself was also staying optimistic.
“I know the world is used to Jamaica winning, and Jamaica always celebrating,” said the 100m world record holder before Bolt. “But believe me, it’s going to happen again. I think people appreciate us more when they see a down period like this.”
