The Land of Blessed Gold
THE SEARCH FOR GOLD
When Christopher Columbus set sail on his second voyage from Cádiz on September 24, 1493 the crews of his ships had one thing above all else on their minds; to find Cathay, the land of gold. Prowling along the south coast of Cuba, hoping that this was in fact Cathay, the crew became angry and disappointed that there was no gold to be found. Then, Columbus received word from the natives living in Cuba of an island to the south – ‘the land of blessed gold’ – Xaymaca. The explorer immediately set sail for this island believing that if it were not Cathay, it had to be close to the land of gold. It turned out that there was no gold in Xaymaca, and that the word actually meant ‘land of wood and water’, hardly sources of the great wealth expected by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. By the 19th century, Cathay was known as China; by the time the British captured Xaymaca from the Spanish, it was known as Jamaica, and by 2008; Jamaican athletes found a wealth of gold in China.
BEIJING
Jamaica finished the Games of the XXIX Olympiad with a record eleven medals, which could easily have been twelve if the promised gold in the women’s 4 x 100 meter event finals had not melted away in a bungled exchange. When the dust settled, Jamaica had racked up six gold, three silver and two bronze medals. The tally surpassed Jamaica’s previous best of seven medals won in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney and our best gold medal haul of two won at the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki.
Of the 204 nations participating at the Beijing Olympics, Jamaica finished 13th overall and 3rd in track and field. Consider the specific medal achievements. In the women’s 100 meter final, Jamaica had an unprecedented sweep of the event with Shelly-Ann Fraser winning in 10.78 seconds and team-mates Kerron Stewart and Sherone Simpson tying for silver, unable to be separated on the photo finish. The women’s 200 meters was won by the reliable and beloved Veronica Campbell-Brown, the first woman to defend her Olympic title in a personal best time of 21.74 seconds. In the same race, Kerron Stewart finished third in a personal best time of 21.99 seconds, adding the bronze to the silver already won in the 100 meters. In the last 100 meters of the women’s 400 meter event, Shericka Williams stunned the crowds with a final sprint which landed her the silver medal in a personal best time of 49.69 seconds. The women returned in the 4 x 400 meter relay event While the stadium still buzzed from the exploits of a young superstar in the 200 meter race, Melaine Walker won the women’s 400 meters hurdles and set a new Olympic record of 52.64, joining compatriot Deon Hemmings, Jamaica’s first female gold medallist who won the event at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. But who was this young superstar that the crowds could not get their fill of?
BOLT
Of the 10,708 athletes from 204 countries competing in the Beijing Games, including the phenomenal Michael Phelps of the U.S.A., one man stood above all; Usain Bolt of Sherwood Content, Trelawny, Jamaica.
Overcoming a series of demoralizing injuries and a disappointing exit from the 200 meter event in Athens in 2004 for which the world junior champion and world record holder was mercilessly criticized, Usain Bolt did what had never been done before.
On August 16, Bolt demolished a field of the best sprinters in the world, including friend and former world record holder Asafa Powell, cruising to victory in the 100 meters. The sprinter lowered his own world record from 9.72 seconds to 9.69 seconds, despite dropping his arms and celebrating 20 meters before the finish line.
This win and the world record could have been predicted by Bolt’s optimistic fans, but next was the 200 meters. After seven races and facing Michael Johnson’s formidable world record of 19.32 seconds set in Atlanta in 1996, reasonable people could expect the gold, but not a world record. This is the stage on which greatness plays out. Vowing to ‘leave everything on the track’, Usain took off in the 200 meter final, a man on a mission. Coming into a headwind of 0.9 meters per second on the straight, there was no celebrating, no easing up as in the 100 meter race. Bolt worked, and worked hard for 201 meters, bowing to cross the line, even though he was 15 meters in the lead, before he looked at the finish time; 19.31 seconds. A moment later, the time was revised down to 19.30 seconds, a new world record.
We were watching history. Both Jesse Owens and Carl Lewis had won the 100 meters and 200 meters in a single Olympic Games, but neither had set a world record in the process for any of the events, let alone both. The greatest performer in Olympic history was dancing right before our eyes, affecting the world with his effusive personality. As if history had not had her fill, Usain returned with Nesta Carter, Michael Frater and Asafa Powell in the men’s 4 x 100 meter relay event to take the gold and the world record in a time of 37.10 seconds. The relay was particularly gratifying for Jamaicans since it saw our beloved Asafa Powell win a gold medal despite the disappointments in major championships over the years. Usain had won three medals and set three world records and we, in our lifetime, got to see it live.
WHAT IT MEANS
Long before Abe Issa pioneered Jamaica’s tourism product, before Sandals, and Beaches and Rick’s Café and Jake’s; long before Bob Marley, Dennis Brown, Shabba Ranks, Beenie Man, Buju Banton and Shaggy; long before Jamaican Michael Lee Chin made the Forbes list of the world’s billionaires, Jodi-Ann Maxwell won the Scripps Howard spelling bee for Jamaica, and Lisa Hanna won Miss World, the single thing that gave Jamaica its sense of nationhood, of independence, of impact, meaning and pride of place in the world, was track and field. Being referred to as the Jewel in Britain’s crown in the 18th century because of our prolific sugar production was a matter of pride for the island’s British expatriates, as the achievement of West Indian cricketers in England in the 1950’s was a matter of pride for the West Indies. From 1948 until now, our greatness in track and field is our own and hence, it has a special place in the psyche of the Jamaican. It is what bonds father to son, one generation to the next, what cements school loyalty and magnifies national pride. So it is no wonder that the world marvelled, not only at our performance on the track in Beijing, but our celebration around the world.
Like an Anniversary, Christmas or a Christening, the Olympics are not something to be celebrated alone. All around the world, from London to Lima, from Kingston to Cape Town, wherever two or three Jamaicans live, we got together in our homes, in our workplaces and on the streets to watch our sons and daughters take on the world. Not abstract, distant characters, but Shelly-Ann Fraser from Waterhouse, whom we might well have overlooked as a schoolgirl sprinter, Usain Bolt from that hotbed parish of talent, Trelawny, and so on. They were up there, but they were from here and we cheered as if our voices carried through space into the ears of our champions and gave them strength. Half-Way-Tree in Kingston was blocked off to allow us to watch the events on a big screen as was Trafalgar Square in London, painted Gold for the week. Everywhere at home and through our great Diaspora our cars were adorned with flags, our bodies with the national colours and our spirits bursting at the seams. We were all of us Jamaicans; we were all of us proud; we were all of us champions. For a time, we were not defined by BBC or CNN or anyone else – putting up images and stories about which we were not so proud. For a time, as the world watched, we defined ourselves as a talented, blessed, ambitious and successful people. For a time, we hurdled with Melaine, flew with Shelly-Ann, dug deep with Shericka and danced with Usain and dreamed among ourselves of the day when our blessed island nation will live out its fullest potential on the world stage as our athletes did in Beijing.
For more about Chris Stokes and to comment on this article visit coolrunningslive.com
When Christopher Columbus set sail on his second voyage from Cádiz on September 24, 1493 the crews of his ships had one thing above all else on their minds; to find Cathay, the land of gold. Prowling along the south coast of Cuba, hoping that this was in fact Cathay, the crew became angry and disappointed that there was no gold to be found. Then, Columbus received word from the natives living in Cuba of an island to the south – ‘the land of blessed gold’ – Xaymaca. The explorer immediately set sail for this island believing that if it were not Cathay, it had to be close to the land of gold. It turned out that there was no gold in Xaymaca, and that the word actually meant ‘land of wood and water’, hardly sources of the great wealth expected by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. By the 19th century, Cathay was known as China; by the time the British captured Xaymaca from the Spanish, it was known as Jamaica, and by 2008; Jamaican athletes found a wealth of gold in China.
BEIJING
Jamaica finished the Games of the XXIX Olympiad with a record eleven medals, which could easily have been twelve if the promised gold in the women’s 4 x 100 meter event finals had not melted away in a bungled exchange. When the dust settled, Jamaica had racked up six gold, three silver and two bronze medals. The tally surpassed Jamaica’s previous best of seven medals won in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney and our best gold medal haul of two won at the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki.
Of the 204 nations participating at the Beijing Olympics, Jamaica finished 13th overall and 3rd in track and field. Consider the specific medal achievements. In the women’s 100 meter final, Jamaica had an unprecedented sweep of the event with Shelly-Ann Fraser winning in 10.78 seconds and team-mates Kerron Stewart and Sherone Simpson tying for silver, unable to be separated on the photo finish. The women’s 200 meters was won by the reliable and beloved Veronica Campbell-Brown, the first woman to defend her Olympic title in a personal best time of 21.74 seconds. In the same race, Kerron Stewart finished third in a personal best time of 21.99 seconds, adding the bronze to the silver already won in the 100 meters. In the last 100 meters of the women’s 400 meter event, Shericka Williams stunned the crowds with a final sprint which landed her the silver medal in a personal best time of 49.69 seconds. The women returned in the 4 x 400 meter relay event While the stadium still buzzed from the exploits of a young superstar in the 200 meter race, Melaine Walker won the women’s 400 meters hurdles and set a new Olympic record of 52.64, joining compatriot Deon Hemmings, Jamaica’s first female gold medallist who won the event at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. But who was this young superstar that the crowds could not get their fill of?
BOLT
Of the 10,708 athletes from 204 countries competing in the Beijing Games, including the phenomenal Michael Phelps of the U.S.A., one man stood above all; Usain Bolt of Sherwood Content, Trelawny, Jamaica.
Overcoming a series of demoralizing injuries and a disappointing exit from the 200 meter event in Athens in 2004 for which the world junior champion and world record holder was mercilessly criticized, Usain Bolt did what had never been done before.
On August 16, Bolt demolished a field of the best sprinters in the world, including friend and former world record holder Asafa Powell, cruising to victory in the 100 meters. The sprinter lowered his own world record from 9.72 seconds to 9.69 seconds, despite dropping his arms and celebrating 20 meters before the finish line.
This win and the world record could have been predicted by Bolt’s optimistic fans, but next was the 200 meters. After seven races and facing Michael Johnson’s formidable world record of 19.32 seconds set in Atlanta in 1996, reasonable people could expect the gold, but not a world record. This is the stage on which greatness plays out. Vowing to ‘leave everything on the track’, Usain took off in the 200 meter final, a man on a mission. Coming into a headwind of 0.9 meters per second on the straight, there was no celebrating, no easing up as in the 100 meter race. Bolt worked, and worked hard for 201 meters, bowing to cross the line, even though he was 15 meters in the lead, before he looked at the finish time; 19.31 seconds. A moment later, the time was revised down to 19.30 seconds, a new world record.
We were watching history. Both Jesse Owens and Carl Lewis had won the 100 meters and 200 meters in a single Olympic Games, but neither had set a world record in the process for any of the events, let alone both. The greatest performer in Olympic history was dancing right before our eyes, affecting the world with his effusive personality. As if history had not had her fill, Usain returned with Nesta Carter, Michael Frater and Asafa Powell in the men’s 4 x 100 meter relay event to take the gold and the world record in a time of 37.10 seconds. The relay was particularly gratifying for Jamaicans since it saw our beloved Asafa Powell win a gold medal despite the disappointments in major championships over the years. Usain had won three medals and set three world records and we, in our lifetime, got to see it live.
WHAT IT MEANS
Long before Abe Issa pioneered Jamaica’s tourism product, before Sandals, and Beaches and Rick’s Café and Jake’s; long before Bob Marley, Dennis Brown, Shabba Ranks, Beenie Man, Buju Banton and Shaggy; long before Jamaican Michael Lee Chin made the Forbes list of the world’s billionaires, Jodi-Ann Maxwell won the Scripps Howard spelling bee for Jamaica, and Lisa Hanna won Miss World, the single thing that gave Jamaica its sense of nationhood, of independence, of impact, meaning and pride of place in the world, was track and field. Being referred to as the Jewel in Britain’s crown in the 18th century because of our prolific sugar production was a matter of pride for the island’s British expatriates, as the achievement of West Indian cricketers in England in the 1950’s was a matter of pride for the West Indies. From 1948 until now, our greatness in track and field is our own and hence, it has a special place in the psyche of the Jamaican. It is what bonds father to son, one generation to the next, what cements school loyalty and magnifies national pride. So it is no wonder that the world marvelled, not only at our performance on the track in Beijing, but our celebration around the world.
Like an Anniversary, Christmas or a Christening, the Olympics are not something to be celebrated alone. All around the world, from London to Lima, from Kingston to Cape Town, wherever two or three Jamaicans live, we got together in our homes, in our workplaces and on the streets to watch our sons and daughters take on the world. Not abstract, distant characters, but Shelly-Ann Fraser from Waterhouse, whom we might well have overlooked as a schoolgirl sprinter, Usain Bolt from that hotbed parish of talent, Trelawny, and so on. They were up there, but they were from here and we cheered as if our voices carried through space into the ears of our champions and gave them strength. Half-Way-Tree in Kingston was blocked off to allow us to watch the events on a big screen as was Trafalgar Square in London, painted Gold for the week. Everywhere at home and through our great Diaspora our cars were adorned with flags, our bodies with the national colours and our spirits bursting at the seams. We were all of us Jamaicans; we were all of us proud; we were all of us champions. For a time, we were not defined by BBC or CNN or anyone else – putting up images and stories about which we were not so proud. For a time, as the world watched, we defined ourselves as a talented, blessed, ambitious and successful people. For a time, we hurdled with Melaine, flew with Shelly-Ann, dug deep with Shericka and danced with Usain and dreamed among ourselves of the day when our blessed island nation will live out its fullest potential on the world stage as our athletes did in Beijing.
For more about Chris Stokes and to comment on this article visit coolrunningslive.com
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