London 2012 - Cool Runnings
They say that behind every great man is a woman. Well, in the summer Olympics of 2008, behind every great Jamaican sprinter was an American. Literally BEHIND. The Beijing Olympics of 2008 saw the Jamaican sprinters leave their American counterparts lagging behind in all the blue ribbon sprint events and served as a major wake-up call to the Olympic powerhouse that is the United States of America.
Usain Bolt, who destroyed the Americans there, became the first runner in 24 years to win both the men’s 100 metre and 200 metre races at the same Summer Games. What’s more is that he did it in phenomenal style. In both races there were times you’d think he wasn’t even trying; but in the time you took to even switch to your next thought he was already celebrating a record-run. And just like that the Jamaicans stole a march over the Americans and Usain raced into our hearts (Okay, that was the last terrible pun; Promise)
It’s tough to NOT love someone with moves like those.
Fireworks are expected in London when athletes from both nations collide for the sprint supremacy. For USA, it will be all about vengeance. For Jamaica, it will be all about repeating Beijing. However, if you were to go on current form, the pendulum looks to be swinging the Jamaicans’ way.
Even just a few weeks ago, everybody had their eyes set on Bolt to pick up the honours at London 2012. But somebody forgot to send in the memo to a certain Mr. Yohan Blake. Blake managed to outrun Bolt in both the 100m as well as 200m Jamaican Olympic trials to emerge as a strong contender, dare I say favourite, for the finals in London. Add to that roster a former world record holder in the likes of Asafa Powell and you’ve got yourself a Jamaican triple-threat that is significantly daunting to say the very least.
The 100m event will see the American charge led by Justin Gatlin, who recorded a personal best of 9.80 seconds at the US Olympic Trials; and 2007 world champion Tyson Gay. Still, they face an uphill task if they want to break the Jamaican combo.
In the 200m event, not much can be expected of the American contingent of Wallace Spearmon, Maurice Mitchell and Isiah Young. A bronze medal in this category could be considered as a job well done.
The women’s draw, however, is a tight affair. The Jamaicans look strong in the100m event, but the Americans have a slight advantage in the 200m event. Here, it’s two against two again. Jamaicans Shelley-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Veronica Campbell-Brown will compete against Americans Carmelita Jeter and Allyson Felix. Previous results show that four have shared the spoils amongst each other. They women’s event therefore is delicately poised ahead of the games.
In 2009, Fraser-Pryce and Felix won the 100-200 gold, while in 2011 it was Jeter and Campbell-Brown. In the 100m, it’ll be defending Olympic champion Fraser-Pryce versus Jeter. The Jamaican’s time of 10.70 seconds, the seventh fastest ever, at the trials was significantly quicker than Jeter’s winning time of 10.92 seconds at the US Trials.
Campbell-Brown is the reigning Olympic 200m champion and five-time Olympic medallist overall. She could be considered a veteran at this age, but keep in mind that she ran the fastest 200m time in a decade last time around. That should count for something.
The Americans will be looking to Jeter for a miraculous double but that would be an almost impossible task considering the form the Jamaicans are in.
Allyson Felix’s chances don’t look too great in the 100m event considering the competition. However she is definitely more than just a strong contender for an Olympic medal in the 200m event. On the last two occasions, she finished a close second to Campbell-Brown. She ran 21.69s at the Trials, the season’s top-time and her personal best. If we compare it with her Jamaican rivals, it was 0.41 seconds faster than Fraser-Pryce and 0.73 than Campbell-Brown. And that is precisely why you see that apparent deadlock in the women’s draw in this edition of the largest sporting event in the world.
The American sprinting contingent will definitely have revenge on their minds at London 2012. A rather disappointing showing at the Beijing Olympics, their worst since 1992, means that the sprinters come under a great deal of pressure to bring the medals back home. However the Americans will certainly face an uphill task because of the emergence of Jamaica as a new track-and-field powerhouse. So here’s looking forward to a fiercely competitive and thoroughly entertaining Olympic run.