Jamaica at the Olympics
Jamaica was first seen in the Summer Games in 1948 despite the fact that the Jamaica Olympic Association (JAM) was both established and recognized by the IOC (International Olympic Committee) in 1936.
Jamaican athletes have been in every Summer Olympics since their debut in 1948 although in 1960, Jamaican athletes with those from Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago competed as the short lived British West Indies (West Indies Federation).
Jamaica is considered as one of the powerhouses in athletics with most of their medal count attributed to that department. They are also one of the countries that performed well in the Summer Olympics from the get-go. In their debut in 1948, Jamaican athletes took home a total of 3 Olympic medals. Arthur Wint was not only the first Jamaican Olympic gold medalist, he was also the first Olympic multi-medalist and he achieved both feats in 1948 when he won the gold in men's 400 meters and the silver for the 800 meters. In the 400 meters, he was followed by fellow-Jamaican Herd McKenley who took the silver.
Jamaica followed up their 1948 performance with an even better one in 1952 where they took home a total of 5 Olympic medals (2 gold and 3 silver). The duo of Wint and McKenley came back and were both in the Jamaican team for the men's 4x400 meters relay that took the gold in Helsinki. George Rhoden also won the top spot for the men's 400 meters. Wint won additional silver for the men's 800 meters and McKenley also won the silver for both the men's 100 and 400 meters.
Jamaican athletes are considered as one of the perennial powerhouse in Athletics. As a matter of fact, since their debut there were only two instances were Jamaican athletes did not manage to snag a medal (1956 and 1964).
Jamaica has also been participating in the Winter Games since 1988 but is yet to win their first medal in any of the events although their national bobsleigh team is quickly becoming popular.
Athlete Trivia
- A West Indies team won bronze in the men's 4 x 400 relay in 1960. Three of the members were from Jamaica: George Ezekiel Kerr, Malcolm A E Spence and Keith Alvin Saint Gardner (Jamaica) and Jim Wedderburn (Barbados). Kerr also won a Bronze medal in the Men’s 800m.
- Herb McKenley from Jamaica is the only man to have made the final round at the Olympics in all three sprints – 100, 200, and 400 (in 1948, 1952)
- In 2008, Jamaican sprint superstar Usain Bolt became the first man to win gold in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m sprints in world record times. He repeated that effort of three golds in 2012, becoming the first man ever to win six Olympic gold medals in sprinting.
Related Pages
- Jamaica at the Winter Olympics
- West Indies Federation at the Olympics (1960)
- List of all countries that have participated at the Olympic Games.
- About sport in Jamaica
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