Jamaica preparing for next generation of runners
From dust to gold, the country’s athletics programme is reinventing itself between the nostalgia for Usain Bolt and the desire to find new idols after Paris 2024’s upset. National institutions are heavily investing towards LA28, as its hotbed of sprinters keeps producing astonishing talent.
On this small Caribbean isle nestled between Haiti and Cuba, it is the lightning-quick moves of living legends like Bolt, Yohan Blake and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce that youngsters strive to emulate with religious zeal. These titans have become the very embodiment of a nation that has turned speed into a cultural cornerstone. “Most of these kids dream of going pro; every one of them wants to be the next Bolt or the next Fraser-Pryce,” Shanti Blake told Agence France-Presse recently.
Now 40, Blake pours into these children the unfulfilled ambition of her own curtailed sprinting career, derailed by injury. “I’m determined to mould some of them into elite athletes. And I will. Without a doubt.”
Her confidence isn’t plucked from thin air. Jamaica, a country of barely 2.8 million inhabitants, has, over the past two decades, become a breeding ground for Olympic and world champions. Their command over sprint events has startled observers globally, particularly when stacked against powerhouses like the United States, with over 320 million people and a sporting infrastructure that dwarfs Jamaica’s in sheer scale and investment.
The supremacy of football, the shirts of Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi once seen everywhere, has faded into the background. Footballs themselves are rare. In their place, there’s imitation of a different kind of icon. As captured in the documentary ‘I Am Bolt,’ sweat trickles down the cheeks of young Jamaicans running, copying the stance, the swagger, the speed of their hero. For many of them, sprinting is no longer just a game; it is identity, possibility, and a path to open the door for a better tomorrow.
In 2016, in the wake of Bolt’s latest ‘golden hat-trick’ at the Rio de Janeiro Summer Games, the Financial Times posed a question that echoed around the globe: “Why does Jamaica churn out sprinters who consistently outpace those from superpowers like the US?” For the legend, the answer was crystal clear: “It’s all about culture,” he responded. “We’ve got a solid system. ‘Champs’ keep producing athletes every single year. Jamaican champions aren’t going anywhere, not for a long while yet.”
The ‘Champs’ he referenced, the Inter-Secondary Schools Boys and Girls Championships, is a national spectacle, a rite of passage broadcast live to packed-out stadiums and living rooms across the island. For many young talents, it’s their first step on the path to sporting stardom.
Yet, the present day paints a more subdued picture. Jamaica’s performance at last Summers’ Olympic Games marked its weakest showing this century: a solitary gold, three silvers, and a lone bronze. A nation accustomed to routine celebration found itself adrift, momentarily leaderless on the track; until, that is, a foreign flame reignited Caribbean pride: Julien Alfred.
Though born in Saint Lucia, Alfred was shaped by Jamaican soil. At just 23, she stunned the world in her Olympic debut, seizing gold in the 100 metres and silver in the 200. Speaking to Athletics Weekly in September, she admitted, “I always wanted to be Usain Bolt. He was more than just an idol.” At 14, she left Castries, her nation’s capital city, and with it her mother and siblings, to chase a dream encapsulated in a note written by her mama, Joanna, and tucked into her suitcase, urging her to “go after them.” And while Alfred may not don the Jamaican flag, her triumphs are hailed across the Caribbean as collective victories. When she ascended the podium twice in Paris, the applause echoed from Kingston to Saint Lucia.
In response to the underwhelming medal haul, Ian Forbes, Vice-President of the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA), raised his voice in December 2024, calling for greater unity among stakeholders. “We’ve weathered the storm, but complacency is not an option,” he cautioned. For him, athlete welfare must be paramount, internal rivalries must not distract from the greater mission. “There’s no cause for despair,” he added calmly.
For many, athletics in Jamaica offers more than a shot at fame. It’s a vehicle for transformation, an educational springboard. Joseph Heron, whose daughters Nayeli (10) and Jaya (9) compete in school events, sees sport as life-changing. “Running keeps them healthy and strong,” he also told the French agency. “Track and field isn’t just part of our professional story. It often unlocks scholarships, builds futures.”
While some emerging stars cross the ocean to pursue studies in the United States, many opt to remain, embracing the ferocious domestic rivalry that sculpts the stars of tomorrow. Among the island’s elite cradles of talent stands the MVP Track Club (Maximising Velocity and Power), founded in 1999 and home to icons like Fraser-Pryce; Elaine Thompson-Herah, a five-time Olympic champion; Nesta Carter and Asafa Powell, the latter mentioned having surprisingly stated last Thursday that “if the support system in Jamaica does not change, my children will not represent.”
Legendary coach Stephen Francis represents a figure long engaged in a silent duel with Glen Mills, the mastermind behind Bolt’s rise under the looming presence of the National Stadium, where rising stars share training lanes with seasoned athletes like Shericka Jackson and Kishane Thompson, the 23-year-old who captured silver in Paris’ 100 metres and is widely tipped to be the face of Jamaican sprinting at Los Angeles 2028; unless, of course, another sensation emerges from the shadows, as is happening in distant Australia with the phenomenal 17-year-old Gout Gout. No wonder he is also a self-confessed Bolt enjoyer.
Standing beside Thompson is another beacon of promise. Or rather, two: 20-year-old Tia Clayton, who placed seventh in the Olympic 100m final, and her twin sister Tina, with whom she forms an impressivo duo as they are both regarded the sport’s next torchbearers. “There’s huge competition here because everyone’s fast,” Tia remarks. “I never fancied studying abroad. I chose to turn pro and educate myself independently.” Tina adds. “As a girl, I’d think: ‘I want to be like her… or her.’ Now, I’m competing against my idols. I’m here to inspire the ones coming next,” she expressed to AFP.
That same spirit of continuity has stirred Jamaican authorities to act decisively. In November, the Jamaica Olympic Association made public a record-breaking funding of $250 million (€230 million) aimed at supporting athletes en route to Los Angeles 2028 and rewarding medal winners from Paris 2024. Ryan Foster, JOA’s Executive Director and General Secretary, outlined the funding as part of a comprehensive strategy to reclaim Jamaica’s place among Olympic royalty. “We want to declare a bold investment in our athletes over this Olympic cycle,” he stated. This financial lifeline seeks to safeguard development, enhance training conditions, and provide an environment in which excellence can flourish.
Words, except headline, from www.insidethegames.biz
