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The Year that changed Track and Field in the Caribbean
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Everyone on planet who has any idea about what the Olympic Games are, know that the Jamaicans (with Usain Bolt leading the way) dominated the Track and field section of the Beijing games.  What may not be as apparent however, is that although the Jamaicans had their best results ever, the rest of the Caribbean also had a stellar year, not only with their senior athletes at the Olympics, but also with their juniors at  the world Junior games.

The Caribbean Olympics
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Quite a few track fans have dubbed the 2008 Olympics the Jamaican Olympics, but the more discerning fans have named the 2008 Olympics the Caribbean Olympics. The reasons are readily apparent when one looks at the “eye popping” statistics that are shown below.

Men
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100M – The Caribbean had SIX finalists including record holder Usain Bolt and Richard Thompson who won the Gold and Silver medals.

200M – There were three Caribbean finalists including Gold medal winner Bolt. The Netherland Antilles Churandy Martina finished in second position but was disqualified. His country is appealing the disqualification. Kim Collins continues to keep St. Kitts on the map by being the first athlete from St. Kitts to make a 200M final

400M – Chris Brown (Bahamas) and Renny Quow (Trinidad) were the only Caribbean finalists.

110H– Cuba’s World Record Robles won Gold while the Jamaicans Wignall and Phillips also made the final.

400H – Two Jamaicans, the defending silver medalist Danny Macfarlane and the new kid on the block Markino Buckley made the final.

Long Jump – The Caribbean had three finalists including Gold medal winner Irving Saladino (Panama) and Camejo (Cuba) who won Bronze.

Triple Jump – Leevan Sands (Bahamas) won the Bronze medal and David Giralt (Cuba) placed fourth.  Randy Lewis, the world rated Grenadian did not make the finals.

High Jump – Jamaican Germaine Mason who plies his trade for Great Britain won the Silver medal. Donald Thomas, the Bahamian world champion in 2007 did not make the final.

4 X 100M – The region had TWO finalists in Jamaica the gold medal winners and Trinidad who won silver.

4 X 400M – Again, the relays showed TWO finalists with Bahamas winning Silver and Jamaica finishing down the track.
Decathlon – Suarez (Cuba) won Bronze, while Smith (Ja) the world champion 2007 silver medalist placed ninth.

Women
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100M – There were four finalists, with the Jamaican Women Fraser, Simpson and Stewart sweeping the medals. Debbie Ferguson (Bahamas) placed 7th.

200M – The Caribbean ladies held 5 final spots with two of the three Jamaican ladies Campbell and Stewart winning Gold and bronze. Simpson and Ferguson made their second sprint finals but Mothersill might have been the first athlete from the Cayman Islands to make an Olympic final.

400M – Jamaica produced two finalists including Sherika Williams who won the silver medal.

800M – Only Kenia Sinclair of Jamaica made the final in an event that Caribbean athletes  no longer seem to perform well.

100H – Jamaicans Bridgette Foster and Ennis-London placed fifth and sixth but were within 0.02 of a second from medaling.

400H – The region had only one finalist, but Jamaican Melaine Walker brought home the Gold with an Olympic record.

SP – Gonzales (Cuba) finished fourth in the final.

Discus – Barrios (Cuba) wins the silver.

Javelin – Former World Champion Menendez (Cuba) only manages 6th in the finals.

Hammer – Yipsi Moreno of Cuba continues the trend of Cuban women doing very well in the throws, by winning the silver medal.

Long Jump – The biggest Caribbean surprise of the meet was Hammond (Jamaica) who placed 4th in the event.

TJ – World champion Savigne (Cuba) only manages a 5th placing.

4 X 100M – Jamaica was the only finalist from the region, but a dropped baton killed their gold medal hopes.

4 X 400M – Jamaica and Cuba made the final with Jamaica coming home with the Bronze medal.

A number of Caribbean countries; Jamaica, Cuba, Panama, Trinidad, Bahamas, St Kitts, Netherland Antilles, and Cayman Islands had finalists at the Olympics.  At the World Junior Championships a month before, other countries like Bermuda, Grenada and Barbados also made their mark.

The Caribbean at the World Junior Championships
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The Caribbean athletes were not as dominant at these games as they were at the Olympics.  However, although the Jamaicans were not as dominant at these games, the rest of the region did step up. The highlight of these games for the Caribbean must be the 200M for women, where the Caribbean ladies won all three medals and none of these ladies were Jamaican.

Men
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100M – There were Four Caribbean finalists. Jamaican Dexter Lee won Gold but his teammate Blake’s up and down season continued. Hyman (Cayman) and Lescay (Cuba) also made the final.

200M – The Jamaican Ashmeade was the only Caribbean finalist, but he wins the silver medal.

400M – The young 15 years old Grenadian sensation (shades of Bolt) is the only finalist but brings home the silver medal in an astounding 45.7. That time should be age group record.

4 X100M – Jamaica and Trinidad make the final, but favorites Jamaica has to be satisfied with the Silver medal.

4 X400M – Jamaica, Trinidad and the Bahamas all make the final but none of these teams win a medal.

100H –   Jamaica’s Stewart (Bronze) is the only Caribbean finalist, but he wins his countries only medal in this event at a world games.

400H – The Cuban Valle (Bronze) is the only finalist from the region.

Triple Jump – The only finalist Hernandez (Cuba) wins Silver and continues his countries record of winning medals in the event.

Women
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100M – Ferguson (Bahamas) and Williams (St. Kitts) are the two Caribbean finalists,   with Ferguson winning the bronze medal.

200M – There are Four Caribbean finalists in the event, with Ferguson (Bahamas), M Williams (St. Kitts) and Redhead (Grenada) winning the Gold, Silver and Bronze medals. That was a truly historical result.
Jamaica’s Jura Levy made the final but finished out of the medals.

400M – The Cuban Susanna Clement is the only regional finalist and she wins the Bronze medal.

4 X 100M – Jamaica (Silver), Trinidad, St. Kitts and Barbados make the final but only Jamaica wins a medal.

100H – The region had five finalists with Shermaine Williams (Jamaica) winning the silver medal and Cuba’s Milanes winning the bronze medal.

400H – Trinidad’s Bellille wins the silver medal, while Jamaica’s Tracy runs a PR to makes her first world final appearance.

High Jump – Lesvani Mayor (Cuba) clears the same height (1.86) as the winner, but on the count back gets the Bronze medal.

Long Jump – Alcantara (Cuba) wins the Bronze medal and Former Bermuda World Youth Gold medalist Arantxa King placed fifth.

Triple Jump – The Cuban pair of Alcantara and Ribalta win the Gold and Silver medals, thus solidifying Cuba’s reputation as the country that owns the triple jump.

The English Speaking Caribbean seems to have upped the ante in the sprinting events, and the Carifta countries like Jamaica, Trinidad, Grenada and St. Kitts seem to have a great future in these events.

Cuba (from the Spanish speaking Caribbean) continues to dominate the jumping and throwing events in the region.
The future of track and field in the region has never been brighter.

Editor’s note: Elmo will be blogging on a regular basis on sporting issues.

Who will win?

 June 10-13.