Track euphoria can strengthen diaspora ties for 2012 Games

Dennis Morrison, Contributor

After the high drama with Usain Bolt's disqualification from the 100-metre final and setbacks in the early stages of the meet, Jamaica's athletes staged a comeback in the latter days of the World Championships, which concludes this morning.

Track and field fans will long remember how Melaine Walker dug deep into her reserves, and by sheer determination, pushed herself to the finish line when it seemed that injury would put her on the sidelines. Then followed the quintessential performer, Veronica Campbell-Brown, affectionately called VCB, who went into overdrive to thwart her American rivals, new 100m champion Carmelita Jeter and defending 200m champion Allyson Felix, who tried to outrun her in the final strides of the 200m race.

Beyond the winning of medals, these Jamaicans showed the strength of character which, after all, is the essence of the sport and what our people should recognise as a vital underpinning of nation-building. And we should not downplay the way in which young Yohan Blake composed himself and refocused after the shock of seeing his partner drop out of the race. This was a display of calm confidence that is encouraging and provides a good example for his generation.

While the individual performances make us proud, what gave me a greater appreciation of the true calibre of our athletes was their obvious striving to excel. In one interview after another, it came across powerfully that their priority was to put out their best efforts, unlike some fans and journalists who are obsessed with the winning of medals. As one British commentator noted: "Jamaican fans expect their runners to win whenever they go on the track ... but winning is not easy."

Fiercely competitive

So as I anticipated, the newer fans will no doubt be disappointed that after the 13 medals from Berlin, the team has not doubled the tally in Daegu. But international athletics is fiercely competitive, athletes get injured, as did several of ours this year, and other factors turn up by chance in the middle of competition. This is why fans should go beyond the medal tally in assessing our performance.

Attention will now turn to the 2012 London Olympics, which will be surrounded by nostalgia for Jamaicans. It is the city where we burst on to the Olympic stage in the 1948 Games with powerful performances by Arthur Wint and Herb McKenley. Their awesome feats on the track inspired generations of our athletes for decades, with Arthur Wint winning our first gold medal (in the 400m) and a silver as well (in the 800m). McKenley won silver in the 400m and earned fourth place in the 200m.

London is also home to one of the largest Jamaican populations overseas, and this has been so since the mass migration that started in the late 1940s. And, of course, there are the communities in the nearby cities of the Midlands. Our team is bound to be welcomed by enthusiastic migrant Jamaicans and by their Britain-born descendants who will bask in their success as they used to do in the days when the West Indies cricket team excelled.

Opportunities

At the same time that the London Olympics will be an occasion for merrymaking, it brings opportunities to re-energise and broaden the links with the diaspora - cultural, social and economic. The relevant agencies here at home will have to get into high gear in their planning and mobilisation if we are not to miss the moment. This must go hand in hand with private-sector and civil-society groups which already are well connected to the diaspora.

The opportunity for tourism and investment promotion is obvious, and the Jamaica Tourist Board and JAMPRO will have a good platform to launch fresh initiatives in the British market and into Continental Europe as well. Though Jamaica already enjoys strong brand awareness in Britain, the global exposure that our athletes will attract will go way beyond what the tourism agency could normally afford to mount. Our athletes will open the door, but the opportunities have to be harnessed. A special target group should be the young Britons of Jamaican and Caribbean background whose ties are loosening as their parents get on in age. Cultural and sporting activities are indispensable emotional mediums through which to connect with this group.

Dennis Morrison is an economist. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.