Jamaica’s athletics successes and the international response

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Others in the region
Trinidad and Tobago has delivered a number of outstanding track athletes over the years. While it is true that Hasely Crawford remains the only Olympic gold medallist (1976 – Montreal) the country has had its share of top athletes. Recently retired Ato Boldon is the most decorated with Olympic and World Championship medals.
Mike Agostini was quite outstanding wearing national colours for the twin-island Republic.
Wendell Mottley was rated one of the best 400m runners of all time winning silver largely due to poor judgement at the Tokyo Olympics (1964).
Edwin Roberts won bronze in the 200m in Tokyo and was fourth in the same event in Mexico four years later.
Like Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago has won several gold and other medals at the Central American and Caribbean Games and the Pan American Games over the years.
The Bahamas’ Tom Robinson for years heralded the arrival of his country as a source of track and field athletics talent. But the real success came with the performances of ‘The Golden Girls’ who copped silver in Atlanta (1996) and gold in Sydney four years later. Individually the women were also very outstanding – Pauline Davis, Savatheda Fines, Chandra Stirrup and Debbie Fergusson.
The Bahamas has produced outstanding athletes in the 400m both men and women. Tonique Williams-Darling stole the show with gold in the 400m at the Athens Olympics (2004) while Avard Moncur won the men’s 400m at the IAAF World Championships in Edmonton, Canada, 2001.
Barbados’ Obadele Thompson has won gold at the IAAF World Cup and bronze at the Sydney Olympics and has been touted as the best sprinter to emerge from that Caribbean nation.
Kim Collins has placed St Kitts/Nevis firmly on the international athletics map with gold in the 100m at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England (2002) and again at the IAAF World Championships in Paris, France (2003). He has been a finalist in the 100m at the Sydney and Athens Olympics and in the 200m at the Beijing Olympics.