This week as the world is agog with the outstanding track performances by Jamaican athletes in the Rio Olympics, it’s interesting to reflect on the remarkable ability of this relatively small nation to produce such a high standard in athletics. The results by the Jamaicans, cresting in so many medal results, and highlighted by the once-in-a-lifetime performances of Usain Bolt, flow from natural athletic ability, of course, but it is widely acknowledged that the foundation of the level reached here is the concentrated programme of highly organized sports dedication that has been a part of Jamaican life for many years.
Books have been written about it, and the details are readily available, outlining the programme begun by the Jamaican government putting an athletics coach in every school in Jamaica leading to a series of championships, regional and national, which have become their track-and-field bedrock. The schools championships, starting at the regional level, and climaxing in the national championship, constitute a powerful engine for the athletes; they are extremely popular events, often with capacity crowds, even though the finals are carried on television.
Feeding the schools programme was the creation of a Sports College formed with the purpose of providing the array of coaches needed for the schools. Jamaica is the only country in the Caribbean with such a college, and the results from the young athletes speak volumes for the wisdom of the undertaking. Another possible reason for the positive sports picture is the national pride ingredient very evident in the Jamaican culture. I recall being in Kingston airport, en route to Guyana, towards the end of the previous Olympics on the day of the relay finals for women.
