Published>Fri, Oct 01 10 06:18 AM
While Team Jamaica grooved to the music, clicked photos, exchanged hugs and soaked in the atmosphere at the official welcome, three athletes preferred to watch the impromptu party unfold from a distance. It wasn't some ingrained aloofness that made Ramone McKenzie, Oshane Bailey and Rasheed Dwyer reluctant to mix with their teammates. Actually, it was their weary legs, those that sprint 100 and 200 metres, that forced them to stay away from the crowd.
National 100-metre champion Bailey, McKenzie along with Lerone Clarke were put through the paces, in the morning and the evening by their coaches; sessions that will be the routine till the eve of their finals at the Games. Dwyer, meanwhile, is the top 200-metre sprinter. Since winning the gold here might mean getting the 'the next big thing' tag, no one is taking any chances.
Four years ago at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games Asafa Powell, then 24, won the 100 metres final. He stayed at the top till countryman Usain Bolt came along as the next ambassador of speed.
Jamaica's six sprinters, including three in the 200, are expected to fill the big shoes of Powell and the Bolt after these stars fade out. These Under-23 sprinters are the finest of the next generation emerging from this Caribbean powerhouse of sprinting. The absence of their big names at the Games presents an opportunity for these youngsters to make a name for themselves at a world event. If they fail, back home there is a well-oiled production line ready to churn out a replacement.
"Talent, training and tradition," Desmon Brown, Jamaica's Chef-de-Mission says is what has made Jamaica a spiriting powerhouse. "We are good in other track and field events too but understandably we are most famous for producing sprinters. Our netball team are world beaters and football is big, but hardly anyone talks about them," Brown said.
Sprinting has dominated the minds of budding athletes in Jamaica.
"We have a tradition of spiriting, starting from Herb McKenley (400 metres world-record holder; 1948) but we have not allowed our talent to go waste. The GC College of Physical Education and Sports in Spanish Town is a centre of excellence which produces world-class coaches who in-turn mould raw talent. The secondary annual sports competition is 100 years old today and draws the largest number of athletes in the world at a single school meet," Brown said trying to dispel the belief that Asafa and Bolt just sprung out of the blue and became world champions.
"I would say that Asafa and Bolt are products of the system back home. The boys here are the next generation of sprinters. You note down their names and mark my words. One of these sprinters will become the next Powell or Bolt," the Chef-de-Mission added. Being a national champion is a ticket to scholarships, fame, sponsorships and stardom.
Clarke, Dailey and McKenzie have perhaps faced the stiffest competition at home before being picked to the Jamaica squad. Kirkland Douglas, one of the head coaches, explained why. "In January-February we have selection trails every weekend. It can take an hour to pick the finalists in the field events and a couple of hours for the finalists to emerge in the middle-distance events. But the 100 and 200 metres is the most popular and we can have up to 20-25 heats a day. That is why the guys here are the best. Our national school record is 10.17, so anything below that is not considered good enough really," Douglas said.
For the likes of Bailey a gold is not good enough. When you sprint for Jamaica that you have to win is a given, the sprinters say in one voice. Since Bolt cantered across the finish line, faster than any man had before him, in Beijing, these young Jamaicans have been trained to only have the world record in their sights.
Source: Web Search
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