When you think about the greatest athletes of all time in any sport, Jamaica’s eight-time Olympic gold medallist and multiple world record holder Usain Bolt, will always come to mind.
Bolt, who retired in 2017, dominated global athletics for a decade winning the 100/200m sprint double in an unprecedented three consecutive Olympic Games (2008, 2012 and 2016). He also won the sprint double at the 2009, 2013, and 2015 World Championships to go along with the 200m title he won in Daegu in 2011. Bolt's world records of 9.58 and 19.19 set in 2009, have remained unchallenged for more than a decade.
His dominance was something many expected when they first saw him and track & field pundit and four-time Olympic medallist Ato Boldon is no different.
“I always thought Bolt could be special if somebody bridged that gap between his junior success and getting into the pros and his coach Glen Mills did that,” Boldon said in an interview with Athletics Weekly.
Boldon recalled how remarkable Bolt was the first time he ever saw him compete.
“The first time I saw him was actually a long way before the rest of the world was paying attention. He was at the Caribbean Games in 2004 and he set the World U20 200m record, clocking 19.93. It lasted all the way until last year,” he said. The USA Erriyon Knighton broke Bolt's U18 and U20 world records in 2021.
“He had his chain tucked into his mouth and he took the last 100m off. He was looking at girls in the stand and could’ve waved to the crowd, he was so far in front. He ran 19.93! Imagine a junior doing that? I’d never seen anybody that tall move their legs that quickly. Of course, he went to the Athens Olympics later on that year and didn’t get through the first round. Then in 2005, he re-emerges and he’s on the pro circuit,” he added.
Bolt’s rise didn’t come without setbacks as in 2005, he got to the final of the Men’s 200m at the World Championships in Helsinki and was in position for a medal before he pulled up injured with about 60 metres to go, finishing eighth in 26.27.
“Two years later in 2007, he gets the World 200m silver medal (in Osaka, Japan) behind Tyson Gay and he arrives. Everyone knows what then happened in Beijing in 2008,” Boldon said.
"As they say, the rest is history."
Bradley Jacks is a budding journalist and an avid sports fan. His love of research and sports has led him to SportsMax.tv, a place where those passions work hand in hand to allow him to produce content.
JC, KC book spots in 4x800m final
Jamaican track & field powerhouses Jamaica College and Kingston College both secured spots in the final of the High School Boys 4x800m on day two of the 128th Penn Relays at the Franklin Field in Philadelphia on Friday.
JC’s quartet of Nellie Amberton, Samuel Creary, Rasheed Pryce and Kemarrio Bygrave combined to qualify fastest with a time of 7:45.38.
KC (Schevorn Wardlow, Nahashon Ruto, Brian Kiprop, Jaquan Coke) ran 7:53.86 to finish second in their heat and advance as the eighth fastest school overall.
Wins for Jamaican duo McLeod and Anderson in Italy on Thursday
As they continue their preparations for Jamaica’s national championships in June, Olympic champion Omar McLeod and World Championship silver medallist Britany Anderson, were both winners at a La Fratellanza 1874 meeting in Italy on Thursday.
McLeod, who celebrated his 30th birthday on Thursday, won the 100m in a brisk 10.32 in a race that also included Britain’s Adam Gemili. Obviously elated over his victory, the 2017 world champion, declared on Instagram, “A win today in the 100m was all I had on my birthday wish list.
“10.32 in an ankle freezing 15-degree weather is a solid opener. Beyond excited for what is to come this season.”
Meanwhile, Anderson, in only her second hurdles race back from injury and knee surgery that saw her miss the entire 2023 season, clocked 13.34 into a 1.4 m/s headwind in a dominant victory in which she widened her lead at each hurdle.
As the meeting concluded on Thursday, things are looking up for the Jamaican sprint hurdlers looking to reclaim their places among Jamaica's elite as the Olympics approach this summer.
Bummer! Thompson-Herah not on entry lists for Sunday's USATF Bermuda Grand Prix
Contrary to recent reports that five-time Olympic gold medallist Elaine Thompson-Herah would be making her season debut at the USATF Bermuda Grand Prix on Sunday, the athlete’s name does not appear on any of the start lists for the event.
Checks by Sportsmax.TV indicate that Thompson-Herah is not listed in the 100m or 200m events at the meet where several other Caribbean athletes are down to compete. According to the start lists published on the meet’s results page, Jamaica’s Kemba Nelson and Alana Reid are set to contest the 100m in a quality field that also includes Tamari Davis and Javianne Oliver of the United States.
In the 200m, Ashanti Moore is the only Jamaican listed.
Meanwhile, Stacy-Ann Williams, Rushell Clayton and Junelle Bromfield, are the Jamaicans listed for the 400m.
Just recently BerNews reported that anticipation is palpable among Bermuda's Jamaican community, with Yackeisha Weir, president of the Jamaican Association of Bermuda (JAB), expecting a strong showing of support for Thompson-Herah at the Flora Duffy Stadium. Weir emphasized the significance of Thompson-Herah's presence, particularly with the upcoming Paris Olympics on the horizon.
"The anticipation is high this year, especially as we have the fastest woman alive competing," said Weir in an interview with BerNews. "With the Olympic Games taking place this summer, Bermuda has a chance to see a preview of Paris. It’s an honour to have Elaine on the island."
However, based on the start lists that have now been published that anticipation among the Jamaican community would have been for naught.
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