Do you think Jamaica will still be a factor by 2016?

[Weights&Shoes]

I can see Rio being home field advantage for Jamaica in T&F if so.

[shivfan]

Traditionally, Jamaica usually throws up sprinting talents, even if Usain Bolt is not around....

I'm sure it will be another US-Jamaica contest.

[unclezadok]

Since Jamaica has been a factor for at least the past 60 years, I expect they will be in 2016. Who knows, maybe Usain will still be around, running the marathon. However, I expect Rio to be a home field advantage only for the Brazilians.

[Marlow]

The sprint wars have cycled around - France - Canada - GB . . .
but something tells me the whole Caribbean will b sticking around for awhile now. The barn door is open and they're getting out and galloping around. The USA will continue to be the strongest on a continuing basis, but these past two years of butt-kicking will continue on-and-off for many more years to come.

BTW, it is a very good thing for everyone, including the USA, who needs someone to focus on to hone their edge.

[doug091463]

i dont know if it will be by 2016 but west africa is the sleeping giant of great sprinters to come.

[Marlow]

i dont know if it will be by 2016 but west africa is the sleeping giant of great sprinters to come.

I'm still waiting for the sleeping giants of China and India to awaken, as has been prophesied in days of yore.

[Non Potest]

i dont know if it will be by 2016 but west africa is the sleeping giant of great sprinters to come.

I'm still waiting for the sleeping giants of China and India to awaken, as has been prophesied in days of yore.

I remember watching an old Olympic film could be '56 or '60 with an Indian in a turban giving the Americans a hard time in the intermediate hurdles evnt. Its sad how India have underperformed in track and field.

[Pelpa]

i dont know if it will be by 2016 but west africa is the sleeping giant of great sprinters to come.

I'm still waiting for the sleeping giants of China and India to awaken, as has been prophesied in days of yore.

I remember watching an old Olympic film could be '56 or '60 with an Indian in a turban giving the Americans a hard time in the intermediate hurdles evnt. Its sad how India have underperformed in track and field.

Is it a fact to say they underperform?

[tandfman]

I remember watching an old Olympic film could be '56 or '60 with an Indian in a turban giving the Americans a hard time in the intermediate hurdles evnt. Its sad how India have underperformed in track and field.

I think you're referring to Milkha Singh, who was fourth in the 400 (flat, not hurdles) at the 1960 Olympics in Rome.

[shearer39]

Bolt will be 30 and presumably still in his prime. Shelly Ann Fraser will be 29 and perhaps still in her prime too. Kerron Stewart will be 31. Dexter Lee will be about 26, and so will Yohan Blake...Jahzeel Murphy will be 22 or thereabouts. Plus, I am sure a whole bunch of kids will be coming out of the woodwork. So yeah, Jamaica will still be a factor, maybe even moreso than they are now.

[Pego]

I remember watching an old Olympic film could be '56 or '60 with an Indian in a turban giving the Americans a hard time in the intermediate hurdles evnt. Its sad how India have underperformed in track and field.

I think you're referring to Milkha Singh, who was fourth in the 400 (flat, not hurdles) at the 1960 Olympics in Rome.

I cannot think of anybody from the subcontinent to be in Singh's class. Susanthika Jayasinghe (I presume, by the name, a Sri Lankan Sinhalese) would be the only other one. I recall India having a pretty decent women 4X400 (? eighties to nineties). Am I missing somebody obvious?

[LopenUupunut]

I cannot think of anybody from the subcontinent to be in Singh's class. Susanthika Jayasinghe (I presume, by the name, a Sri Lankan Sinhalese) would be the only other one. I recall India having a pretty decent women 4X400 (? eighties to nineties). Am I missing somebody obvious?

Pritchard?

[TrainerPhil]

Jamaica has been a factor in world-class sprinting for a very very long time and they will forever be a factor as long as the island still exists. Will they be just as dominant as they were in Beijing in Berlin? The scary thought is that they might be more dominant................ We could just be seeing the tip of the iceberg.

[gh]

Jamaica has been a factor in world-class sprinting for a very very long time .....

Given the current youth movement, I don't think the cycle will have run out by 2016, but history has shown us that these things are indeed cyclical, particularly in nations with small populations.

Let's look at Jamaica and the Olympic men's 100:

no medals for the first 13 editions (1896-1948)
silver in '52
no medals '56, '60, '64
silver in '68
nothing in '72
silver in '86
then 7 OG without a medal until Bolt's gold last year

That's cherry picking the top-end, I realize, but 4 medals in 112 years suggests they aren't just there for the taking.

[Pego]

I suspect, many people consider Jamaican-born citizens of other nations "Jamaicans". If you add those, the list becomes more impressive.