An island unto themselves

Look for Jamaicans to make life very tough for everyone else in the sprints

If you are the big tree,

We are the small axe

Sharpened to cut you down, (well sharp)

Ready to cut you down, oh yeah

Small Axe - Bob Marley

Jamaicans take their sport seriously. I got my first taste of that -quite literally - in 1996, when Deon Hemmings won the women's 400m hurdles at the Atlanta Games.

As she thrust herself across the line in a golden moment of the ages for the Caribbean nation, the packed Gleaner newspaper's sports club erupted into a shower of Red Stripe beer and white rum (which is just slightly less potent than kerosene).

In a nation born to run, it was the country's first Olympic gold medal since the sinewy and balding Donald Quarrie won the 200 in Montreal 20 years before.

During that drought, it was close but no cigar for the islanders - particularly on the women's side with the likes of Merlene Ottey, Juliet Cuthbert and Grace Jackson picking up silver and bronze pieces while the United States hoarded the gold at the Games.

Push the fast forward button eight years after Hemming's heroics and Jamaica claimed two track gold (Veronica Campbell-Brown in the 200 and the women's 4x100 relay). Four years later, Jamaica ran off with five of the six gold medals in Beijing (that's if you don't count the 400m as a dash) and left the mighty US bewildered and fuming while also sowing the seeds of a rivalry for the ages.

You can have your Lochte-Phelps clash in the pool or the Ethiopians and Kenyans trying to outdo each other while running seemingly endlessly around the Olympic track.

The real battle of the Games will feature vignettes between red, white and blue and green, gold and black and last far less than a minute each time.

There has been a paradigm shift in sprinting, and now Jamaica is the big tree.

In Usain Bolt, the world's fastest man, and Yohan Blake, his heir apparent, the island - basically an up-and-down flight away from Miami - has (barring false starts) the gold to lose in the men's 100 and 200 dashes. Toss in Asafa Powell and possibly evergreen Michael Frater and the 4x100 relay world record could fall again to Jamaica - just as it did in 2008.

The US's Tyson Gay and reborn Justin Gatlin will be well and truly in the medal hunt in the 100 and Wallace Spearmon won't be all that far away in the half-lap event, but these gold medals are Jamaica's to toss away.

Much has been made of a potential feud between "Lightning" Bolt and "Beast" Blake, but Jamaican track expert Leighton Levy says it's much ado about nothing.

"Blake and Bolt are fine," Levy said. "They've been good pals since Blake joined the Racers camp from St. Jago High four years ago.

"People are trying to pit them against one another because they feel they shouldn't co-exist, but this is nothing new. Leroy Burrell and Carl Lewis broke the 100m world record four times between them while they were members of the Santa Monica Track Club, whose members won about 18 gold medals between them and world championship medals as well."

Levy is confident Jamaica will sweep the men's sprints, but says the US is fuming for revenge.

"The US-Jamaica rivalry has been intense since 2008 because they are not used to being on the outside looking in when it comes to the sprints and they are going to come at us hard in London," he said.

"They will have more success on the women's side where Jamaica's women have faltered since 2008 and the US women have gotten better. And it doesn't help that Campbell-Brown is not going to be a threat in the 200, where she won gold medals in 2004 and 2008.

"She won't medal in the 200 as she has put on too much muscle mass. She will struggle to run fast. Also she has had too many coaching changes in too short a time."

That would appear to leave US veteran and two-time Olympic bridesmaid Allyson Felix and teammate Carmelita Jeter, who seems to age better than a Napa Valley red, chasing 200 glory.

However, in the 100, Jamaican pocket rocket Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the reigning Olympic and world champion, is in the pink of form and, if she gets off to her customary bullet-like start, will be near impossible to catch after improving her top-end speed.

The women's 4x100 will be a raffle as both teams blew it in Beijing, but if they can get the stick around, the US should just pip the Jamdowners.

So, that's Jamaica four, US two.

Enjoy world and don't blink!

tymglaser@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 07/27/2012 page10)