Orville Taylor | Deon Hemmings deserves recognition

If you mispronounce her married name, it might sound like a reference to one's partner in dancehall jargon. It is easy for the tongue to slip from McCatty to 'Mi catty'. Therefore, for the rest of this article I shall only call Deon by her maiden name, Hemmings.

This evening is the finale of the JAAA national championships and in spite of some disappointments and imminent changing of the guard in some of the disciplines, it does appear that Jamaican track and field is in good hands. Yet somehow I am wondering if somewhere in her backyard there is a coop with a black or white fowl, that she might have stolen.

Okay! We understand that when Queen Nanny was being touted for installation as national heroine, little was known about her. It was difficult to separate fact from myth.

Similarly, it has taken years of activism for finally an official move to be made for Chief Takyi to be declared a national hero, joining the ranks of the other seven, at least three of whom he is far more qualified to be so honoured.

But, while the exploits of these historic figures are subject to the scribes and historians, and given that the biggest liar I know is actually a historian, the evidence for our 'undersung' heroine is overwhelming, and the omission is shameless or shameful.

At Independence Park which houses the National Stadium, where the championships are being held, there is a pantheon of Jamaican track and field gods.

None of those featured is undeserving, and this includes now social media player sub-10 King Asafa Powell, whose only individual global gold medal was at the Commonwealth Games of 2006. Safa is my brethren, and I am forever grateful for being that focal point that made us recognise that not only could we do it here but do it better than the rest of the world.

Though not an individual gold medal winner on either of the two largest stages, the World Athletics Championships or the Olympics, he is the first locally trained world record holder. Powell is the portal, through which Usain Bolt and the entire cadre of locals gained recognition.

Even the programme at the GC Foster College has to pay homage to the impact of Powell and the MVP Club experiment.

FIRST MEDALLIST

Appropriately, Arthur Wint Drive leads us to the stadium, and he is our first Olympic medallist, a gold in 1948. Then, doubtless, the Helsinki quartet, that kicked the Americans' posterior in winning the 4x400 metres relay in 1952, fully deserve their place.

Add to that, the incredible Don Quarrie, whose smooth transition over the second half brought our first 200 metres Olympic title, turning 24 years of hope into carats.

Be not fooled, Merlene is no 'Bronze Queen'. She has won two world championship 200-metre titles and a relay 4x100 gold. Only an Olympic top prize has eluded her. Never mind the three Commonwealth golds either. Ottey is a trailblazer, because as a 20-year-old, fresh out of school, she won the anglophone Caribbean first female Olympic sprint medal. A worthy bronze in 1980.

Then, we missed it because it was Flo Jo's moment, but Grace was the first Jackson to mine global silver, running a still amazing 21.72, faster than Veronica Campbell-Brown, Juliet Cuthbert, 'Mommy Rocket' Shelly and Kerron Stewart ever ran.

But, that is a silver. How come, that while Ottey was earning her first Olympic silver in the 100 metres, in my opinion, was cheated out of the gold in a photo finish that still cannot separate her and American Gail Devers, who got the home court decision, Deon Hemmings kept her poise and kicked down the door.

REVENGE

It was guts, going into the people dem yard and taking revenge for what happened to Ottey, she kicked when asked and the rest was indeed history. Her then Olympic record of 52.82 is faster than any time ever run by any of the current crop of runners, who lined up yesterday.

I watched the race live in Miami with my nephew. On Friday, I still got chicken bumps while looking at the video again. As the chorus reprised itself in my head.

Whether intentional or not, the omission of Hemmings from the park is a travesty.

As great as Shelly and VCB are, they were toddlers and infants when Hemmings cut cloth and tore up the track.

True, there are many more, whose shoulders this generation stand on, and while Una Morris and Vilma Charlton might have done more with the resources of the 1980s, the fact is, a first is a first.

I want to personally use this column to thank Deon for the pride she brought a struggling hungry graduate student, whose tears of joy washed away the white squall.

And while we are at it, Bertland Cameron won our first World Championship gold medal in 1983, our only global 400 metres gold since 1952.

 

- Dr Orville Taylor is senior lecturer at the Department of Sociology at The University of the West Indies, a radio talk-show host, and author of 'Broken Promises, Hearts and Pockets'. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and tayloronblackline@hotmail.com.