A Jamaican queen in Glasgow

Dr Orville Taylor, Columnist

Aargh!!!! After 52 years of Independence, why do we need to bow to a foreign monarch as our head of state? Worse, on our little piece of rock, bequeathed by the blood, sweat and tears of the forced migrants to this country, the flag of Her Majesty and members of the Royal Family must be flown higher and can be larger than the black and green with the gold X in the middle. It is the Commonwealth Games again, and it is once again time to ascertain who the Jamaican sprint queen is.

Whatever the result of the female 100 metres sprint in Glasgow, the victor might be considered an incomplete champion, since the Americans are absent. It is a fair assessment, because, after Australian Betty Cuthbert's 1956 Olympic victory, Jamaicans have been the only global Commonwealth champions in the marquee sprint event. Nevertheless, despite the absence of the USA, the winner here can celebrate, because seven of the 10 fastest women this year are present.

Still, the argument is about Jamaicans, and the list is short. In ascending order of magnitude, the contenders are Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Veronica Campbell-Brown (VCB), and the legendary Merlene Ottey, who won her first Commonwealth Games gold medal when Campbell-Brown was wearing nappies and not even creeping, and Shelly-Ann, not even a lustful thought in her father's mind. If one uses raw speed, then Shelly-Ann, with a personal best of 10.70, dwarfs Ottey and VCB. Remarkably, she has run 10.7s on eight occasions, compared to Merlene's best of 10.74 done once and three follow-up 10.7s. In third are VCB's 10.76 and 10.78.

However, Merlene has more than 67 sub-11 clockings over 100 metres and racked up 57 consecutive victories over the distance. Moreover, the lucrative Diamond League purses and the myriad opportunities to race were not as present during Ottey's heyday. With the improved running surfaces and shoes, Ottey, in her prime, could arguably have easily run consistent 10.6s today.

Indoors, where the tracks and conditions have historically been more innovative, Merlene is the first Jamaican to have run sub-7.0 seconds over the 60 metres, and apart from her national record 6.96, she has been in this zone three other times. Shelly has crossed only once and VCB still 'canna cross it'. And pssst! - when Merlene set the national record, it was the first time that the 7.0 barrier was broken and a world record. No other Jamaican woman has yet set a world sprint record since electronic timing properly recorded races. For good measure, Ottey also has the national record of 6.00 seconds for the less-frequently run 50 metres.

Notably, all three women have won the World Indoor 60 metres, but only Ottey has won the 60m-200m double.

Stretching her 5' 10" frame over 60 metres indoors and managing to reach top end speed is spectacular. After all, Fraser-Pryce and VCB are almost the same height, whether they stand or crouch.

200 metres

But let's go to the longer sprint: the 200 metres. Merlene has the national outdoor record of 21.64, and wins, losses or draws, she has a jaw-dropping 34-race win streak and has run below 22 seconds 15 times. Shelly has never gone faster than 22.09, while VCB's 21.74 and her three 21.9s put her slightly ahead of Juliet Cuthbert's 21.75. In fact, adjusting for running track and shoes, Ottey, Cuthbert and Grace Jackson, whose 21.72 is still faster than VCB and Shelly, would, in my view, keep them off the 200 metres podium if they were contemporaries.

Nonetheless, in the indoor 200 metres, Ottey is unequalled. No woman, of any race, nationality or gender, has ever run the 200 in less than 22 seconds. Set in 1993, this mark of 21.87 is still the world record, making Ottey a double world record holder. The likelihood of this being broken is slimmer than the margin of economic growth we have had in the last few years, and since the indoor event has been retired because of issues with its fairness, as it was difficult to police. Furthermore, although dearly missed, there is no process to find a replacement, because there is no suitable race to fill the gap.

Being immortalised in an unbreakable world record is one thing. Winning quality medals and putting on one's best performance when it counts is another. Here Shelly's historic victories in the Olympics 100 metres in 2008 and 2012 are peerless. Then her recapture of the IAAF World Championships and capping it with an emphatic 200m victory last year made her corral all the major sprint titles. Now, the shortest female sprinter is doubtless the Queen of the hill.

But, VCB had won World Championship 100m and 200m gold, and has repeated as 200 Olympic champion. Ottey has also reprised her role as 200 metres World champion. And unless one looks with European or American eyes, she did beat Gail Devers in 1993 for the 100 metres title. This also reoccurred in 1996 at the Atlanta Olympics where, once again, both women had identical times. So, Ottey really ought to be seen as having won both Olympic and World Championship 100 titles. If you think it is bias, Google the images of both races. Ottey's 25-year longevity as a premier sprinter is unmatchable.

In the final analysis, both Ottey and VCB have won more Olympic and World Championships medals than Shelly, but given the victories and colour of medals per appearance, Shelly has a proportional edge. True, an individual victory in Glasgow would have made her a Commonwealth medallist, just like the other two, and as her uncle would say, 'ratify' her greatness; but she will only do the 4x100. Also for VCB, for all her accolades, she, unlike Ottey, has never won an individual Commonwealth title. Bet you she really wants this, too.

Whoever you choose, all three are our Queens and I look forward to hearing 'Eternal Father ... .'

Dr Orville Taylor is senior lecturer in sociology at the UWI and a radio talk-show host. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and tayloronblackline@hotmail.com.