Defending Olympic champion Veronica Campbell-Brown won gold for the 200m race, essentially routing Allyson Felix of the United States in 21.74 seconds. Reggae music filled the stadium as Campbell-Brown celebrated with her country’s flag, much the way Usain Bolt did with his world record-setting wins in the 100 and 200 and the way the Jamaican women did when they swept the 100. Jamaica has made history as this marked the first time one country swept all four races at an Olympics since the United States did it in 1988. “Bolt set it off. After that, I just think the Jamaican camp went crazy,” said Jamaican third-place finisher Kerron Stewart. The Jamaican track stars left no doubt about who was first in these races. They not only won, they won leaving their competition way behind.
Campbell-Brown’s blowout made her the first woman to win back-to-back 200s since the 1980s. No man has ever repeated in the 200. Her 21.74 marked the fastest time in the women’s 200 in a decade and the fastest time recorded at sea level since the 1992 Barcelona Games. “What can you say?” Felix said. “A phenomenal time.”Felix won her second Olympic silver in this, a carbon copy of the finish at the Athens Games. “Deja vu, and not in a good way,” she said. She is one of the best runners in America and I have always respected her calm demeanor and her great attitude to the sport. Big up Allyson Felix!
It seems that dirtbag, Balco founder Victor Conte, who is currently behind bars from a doping scandal, is trying to cast doubt on the ability of the Jamaican runners. He said that he warned the World Anti-Doping Agency about a drugs supplier working with elite athletes and suggested eight months ago sending disguised drug testers to Jamaica. Is anybody listening to this criminal? Conte said he had no evidence of doping by any of the winners but noted that when sprint times “begin falling like rain, questions arise.” He said this was especially so when the record breakers came from Caribbean nations such as Jamaica where there was no independent anti-doping agency. Conte said Bolt’s 100 metres in 9.69 seconds was almost unbelievable. What he needs to realize is that not every athlete engages in doping. Not everyone is a Marion Jones, Andruw Pettigrew, Justin Gatlin and Tim Montgomery, to name a few. Take Michael Johnson, for instance, he shattered the 200m world record 12 years ago and was never a doper, so what’s wrong with the Jamaicans doing so well. For the record, track and field in ingrained in the Jamaican culture. Children there are exposed to the sport starting in elementary school. It is nothing new.
People should acknowledge the victories of these athletes much like they have done for swimming phenomenon Michael Phelps. I don’t hear Victor Conte talking about this young man’s unbelievable achievements at the Olympics. But the victory of the Jamaicans was yet another sign of the amazing depth being produced on the Caribbean island of 2.8 million people, a country that has never had trouble producing great athletes but has often had trouble keeping them there.
Separately, Usain Bolt was criticized by IOC chief Jacques Rogge for his antics on the track. He said that Bolt should show more respect to his fellow competitors. I’m sorry, but did anyone criticize Marion Jones, Justin Gatlin and others after they won big in the last Olympics? Call him what you want, Usain Bolt has made history in a major way. He is on par with the great Jesse Owens, Jamaican Donald Quarrie and Michael Johnson. Owens became one of the biggest names in the Olympics by winning four golds in the 1936 Berlin Games but Bolt’s 100 and 200 meters wins, both set in world record times, have earned him a place alongside the American, according to Rogge.
“Bolt is another dimension in sprint,” the International Olympic Committee president told international news agencies in an interview. “Bolt must be considered now the same way like Jesse Owens should have been in the ’30s. It is different in that Bolt has a bigger edge than Owens in his finals.””Bolt in a way — if he maintains that in the future — will bring a mark like Jesse Owens.” he said. Let me end this with some patois, directed at Jacques Rogge–“man shut yu clappers and go weh from deh.” “Nobody nah listen to yuh with yuh ignorant talk.” “Oonu just caan accept se sumady from likkle Jamaica suh large a China.” “Go weh bwoy and hold yuh corner!” “A fe wi time dis!”
Filed under: Jacques Rogge, Michael Johnson, Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt, Veronica Campbell-Brown
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