Between Usain Bolt, Elaine Thompson-Herah and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Jamaica has had a stranglehold on sprinting over the past few Olympic Games, and this year was no exception.
After winning gold in both the 100m and 200m in Paris, the Jamaican women were….what’s that? They didn’t win?
Shockingly, no. Both Shelly-Ann and Sherika Jackson withdrew from the 100m due to injury and Jamaica’s Tia Clayton took seventh in the final
Well, at least they rebounded to take gold in the 200m. Wrong again. Jackson, the 2023 World Champion withdrew from that race because of injury as well, so NO Jamaican made the final? That’s crazy!
I’m sure Jamaica’s dominance in the men’s 100m continued in the tradition of Usain Bolt and the Jamaicans reclaimed the “World’s Fastest Man” title after loaning it to Italy’s Marcell Jacobs at the Tokyo 2020 Games.
Nope.
Team USA’s Noah Lyles dusted Jamaica’s Oblique Seville and edged out Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson by the width of a clavicle to take gold in the race, giving the U.S. its first 100m gold since Justin Gatlin won it in Athens in 2004.
And now Jamaica doesn’t have a single competitor in the men’s 200m final.
The bad luck and lack of gold sprinting success for Jamaica at this year’s Olympics is absolutely stunning considering the island’s historic success.
Bolt won three straight Olympic 100m/200m double-double crowns (2008, 2012, 2016). In the women’s 100m, Jamaica won four straight gold medals; Fraser-Pryce (2008, 2012) and Thompson-Herah (2016, 2020). The Jamaican trio of Thompson-Herah, Fraser-Pryce and Jackson swept the Olympic podium in 2020.
In the 200m, Jamaica won gold in four out of the last five Games (Veronica Campbell-Brown in 2004 and 2008, and Thompson-Herah in 2016 and 2020; Allyson Felix of Team USA won it in 2012); Gabby Thomas ended the 12-year drought for the U.S. at this year’s Games in Paris.
Jamaica still has a slim chance to medal in the remaining events, but the disappointment with its track team at this year’s Games is glaring.
Yet it’s not all bad as the team has surprisingly left its mark in the field events.
In the women’s triple jump, Caribbean nations showed out as Dominica’s Thea Lafond-Gadson took gold and Jamaica’s Shanieka Ricketts took silver. It was a historic win for both athletes as it was Dominica’s first-ever Olympic medal and it was Jamaica’s first-ever medal in the event.
In the men’s long jump, an event dominated by Team USA and Carl Lewis in particular, Greece’s Miltiadis Tentoglou defended his 2020 gold medal while the U.S. was blanked by having no athletes in the final.
But Jamaica had two athletes qualify, Carey McLeod and Wayne Pinnock. Pinnock won silver, giving Jamaica its second-ever Olympic medal in the event (James Beckford, 1996 Atlanta Games).
And, although the Jamaican women did not medal in the event, Ackelia Smith placed fourth overall.
Staying on the field, the men’s shot put was once again dominated by Team USA’s Ryan Crouser and Joe Kovacs, who have taken gold and silver, respectively, over the last three Olympics. The US has dominated the sport overall, winning 51 total medals (19 gold) since the event was added to the Games in 1896.
However, the winner of the bronze medal was Rajindra Campbell from Jamaica, giving the country its first-ever medal in the sport.
On Wednesday, it was time for discus, and history was made not once but four times.
First, Lithuania’s Mykolas Alekna set a new Olympic record with a throw of 69.97m, breaking the record of 69.89 set by his father, Virgilijus Alekna, in Athens in 2004.
But a few minutes later, Jamaica’s Roje Stona stepped into the circle and unleashed a historic throw that shocked everyone, including momentary record holder Mykolas.
His throw, measuring 70.00 meters, set the new Olympic record, won a gold medal for Jamaica and gave the country its first-ever medal in the event and its second-ever throwing medal (behind the aforementioned Campbell). Lastly, and most shockingly, Stona earned Jamaica’s first gold medal at the Paris Games.
His victory shouldn’t come as that big of a surprise as his coach is none other than the aforementioned 3x Olympic gold medalist, Ryan Crouser.
As of Wednesday, Jamaica had five overall medals; 1 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze. Yet four of those medals come from field events, not sprints, which is mindnumbing to all who know and follow the Summer Games and track and field.
On the bright side, the 2024 Paris Games might signify a different way for Jamaica to increase its medal count.
Only this path starts on the field, not the track.
