Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago and Caribbean at the 2008 Olympics Excellence and Success on the Global Stage

In a broad metaphorical sense, pride in country is the leitmotiv of Jamaica’s ideology, and that’s true whether at home or abroad.

A few days ago, it exploded on the international scene at the 2008th Beijing Olympics and it was taken up as the main or recurring emotion throughout the entire Caribbean. That happened when Usian Bolt, took the crown and the gold medal in the men’s 100 meter final and within 24 hours three women —Shelly Ann Frazer, followed by Kerron Stewart and Sherone Simpson — captured the gold and silver in the women’s 100 meter final in a fashion that was never achieved before.

It was an electrifying and mind-boggling experience, not simply for Jamaica and the Caribbean but the rest of the world. Never before in the history of the modern Olympics had two relatively small countries, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, pushed aside such giants as the United States, Russia, Canada, England, Germany and China to claim the title that comes with producing the world’s fastest men and women.

And given the fact that the games are far from over more accolades may still be in store for Jamaica and its Caribbean neighbors.

Yes, the United States completed the 100 meter sprint double in 1988. But also true last weekend was the first time that a country had swept the medals for any 100 meter race since 1912 and it was certainly the first in the history of the games and World Championships that a nation had done it in that fashion.

Little wonder that the Rt. Rev. Don Taylor, the highest ranking Caribbean cleric in the U.S. Episcopal Church, said that “some people may be on Cloud nine but I am in heaven,” underscoring the jubilation in his heart.

It wasn’t a question of ultra nationalism, chauvinism if you will, in Bishop Taylor’s case. It was a realization that Jamaica and indeed Trinidad and Tobago’s Richard Thompson, who won the silver medal in the men’s 100 meter race had emerged as the best in the world.

For decades, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and in more recent times the Bahamas and St. Kitts-Nevis have been producing world class athletes, men and women, who have more than held their own against the planet’s top flight talent in the sprints. Jamaica, in particular, has given birth to men and women who later went on to represent and won medals or championships for Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States and Italy.

How come?

For one thing, Jamaica has developed an excellent athletic program that encourages its youth to engage in high level competition that captures the imagination of its nationals every year. And it begins in the primary and elementary schools. The rewards may not always come in the form of scholarships to colleges in the U.S., for instance, but in the enthusiastic embrace and recognition from people at all levels of society.

For another, it is the drive for excellence in sport, much like in music, dance and other aspects of Jamaican life. That used to be the case for cricketers, who saw the game that the English took to the West Indies as a door opener to upward economic and social mobility. No so anymore. The West Indies cricket team which dominated the world in the 1980’s and 1990’s, winning successive World Cup championships has since fallen, far down from grace. While the athletes are on the rise, the cricketers are in a seemingly permanent state of decline, even at a time when they are among the world’s best paid cricketers.

On the day of the men’s 100 meters, the Olympics most glamorous event, six competitors from the Caribbean, three from Jamaica, two from Trinidad and Tobago and one from the Netherlands Antilles faced the starter. It was an impressive and unprecedented show of athletic prowess that can only be an excellent motivating force for young people throughout the region. After all, the Olympic Games are the showpiece that attracts competitors from almost every nation and territory in the world and to see such talent from a small area of the globe doing so well at the highest levels of competition is a reminder that size doesn’t matter.

Interestingly, the issue of size and success was foremost on the minds of many American sports commentators who wanted to know how come a small country like Jamaica with limited financial and a population that was less than one per cent of the United States could perform so well.

The answer, of course, lies in dedication, the quest for excellence and performance on game day that drive athletes from the Caribbean.

In his comments Bishop Taylor said that the results “turned a positive light on Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago too, a positive light on Jamaica in particular as so much has been said about the negative side of Jamaica” in recent times.

He went on: “it has brought to the attention of the world that in spite of our shortcomings, Jamaica and Jamaicans are still a people of hard work, great diligence, tremendous fun and a spirit to achieve the best is still a pre-occupation of our Jamaican people.”

Clearly, Jamaica has had more than its fair share of difficulty, both economic and social. It’s a fact that many of its problems have been self-inflicted while others were thrown on its doorsteps by forces outside of its borders.

But as in the case of its neighbors, Jamaica was never a one-dimensional country that was full of negative influences. It has contributed much to human civilization and its presence on the international stage has enabled it to play an important role in the United Nations Security Council, the Group of 77 Developing countries and China, and in other bodies where pressing global issues and crises are resolved.

As for Trinidad and Tobago, it too captured the Olympics 100 meters gold medal when Hasley Crawford won it in the 1980’s and Ato Bolden won the silver in more recent times. And like Jamaica, it has made its presence felt in the fields of culture and global understanding.

For example, Trinidad and Tobago was the pioneering member-state in the campaign for the International Criminal Court which has become an important part of the global judicial system fighting to end genocide and other crimes against humanity. When the drive for the ICC was launched at the United Nations, many diplomats expressed doubts that a small country would be successful in overcoming the opposition. But they were proven wrong.

Both Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago led the way by becoming the first sovereign states in the English-speaking Caribbean in 1962. After breaking the colonial chain they staked out a worthy claim to a useful presence on the world stage at a time when skeptics were wondering how the “mini-states” would be able to find a place among the large and powerful countries during the Cold War.

That question and many more like them have been answered by performance in the councils of the United Nations, the Organization of American States, the World Bank, the World Health Organization and a range of other important global bodies.

That brings us back to the Olympics and Jamaica’s display of power in Beijing.

Dr. Basil Bryan, who served with distinction as Jamaica’s Consul-General in New York for almost a decade traced, quite correctly, his country’s success last week-end to a “time-tested work ethic” and to the “values of hard work, sacrifice and perseverance.”
We couldn’t agree more.

In addition, he explained, the success that was shown to the world in the Men’s and Women’s sprint races was “born out of the country’s highly competitive junior program.”

As he explained it, (see the Op-Ed page) , “there is no track meet in the world like the annual high-school championships, where thousands gather to witness four days of spirited competition in a fever pitched atmosphere where bragging rights based on school colors take precedence over from whatever other achievements by alumni of the competing schools.”

In other words, the schools are nurseries of Jamaica’s talent, encouraging it through public support and acclaim. The youthful participants are made aware, from quite early, that they can and must excel and therefore carry on a rich tradition in sport. But that spirit transcends athletic competition. The young people are made to understand quite early that diligence and hard work are the prerequisites of success, whether in track and field, the classroom, in song and dance or on the job.

In short, that mantle has become a way of life.

A final observation. The joy we witnessed in recent days wasn’t simply a Jamaican or Trinidadian experience. The entire Caribbean, especially the English-speaking countries which often compete against the Jamaicans on the field of sport felt as if they too had won the medals.

The Caribbean spirit of togetherness was evident throughout the area. That’s how it must remain.