Oral Tracey | Doha a statement championships

It is somewhat ironic that the last international championships for Jamaica’s and the world’s greatest-ever sprinter, Usain Bolt, saw one of our worst performances in recent times in terms of medal haul. Maybe it was the shock and the actual realisation that this would have been the last time that the legend would have been stepping on to the running track in serious competition. That startling reality might have permeated the London air and rattled the nerves of the entire Jamaican camp.

Indeed, we suffered the misfortune of almost everything that could have gone wrong actually going wrong, including the big man losing his 100 metres title and getting injured and limping off the track in his last race of his illustrious career. Whatever the reasons were Jamaica left London 2017 with one gold, one silver, and two bronze for a paltry four medals.

Through the ebb and flow of emotions, the pontificating as to what life would be without the star power of Bolt and, indeed, the likes of Asafa Powell and Veronica Campbell-Brown to here and now where it is clear that the post-Bolt transition is going more smoothly and quickly than anticipated by all

It was quite conspicuous going into these championships very little if any mention was made about the recent past all eyes were fixed on the here and now. The leadership experience and class of the now four-time world champion Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce, Elaine Thompson, and Yohan Blake of the golden generation remain solid components of the Jamaican core, but more importantly, there is a new cadre of Jamaican stars performing with a proverbial chip on their shoulders. Tajay Gayle’s brilliant gold medal-winning performance is the latest and loudest testament to that fact.

Doubts dissipating

The seeds of doubt about Jamaica’s future in the sport are rapidly dissipating, thanks in large part to the fearless excellence that characterises the new generation of athletes, especially in the non-traditional disciplines of the sport, led by the likes of Gayle, Fedrick Dacres in the discus, Danniel Thomas-Dodd in the shot put, and Shanieka Ricketts in the triple jump, who all arrived in Doha as bona fide contenders for podium finishes.

Thanks to this rapidly changing landscape, my personal predictor shows Jamaica conservatively winning 11 medals in Doha and based on the start we have had that number could be as high as 13 or 14.

If Jamaica finish up with anywhere near that number at the end of these championships, it would be a statement performance.

A loud shout-out to the world that although Bolt has left the sport, Jamaica is still very much here. It is statement that some of us expected at some point, but certainly not two years on.

For these championships, in particular, credit must go to the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association as well as the coaching and management who have so far been excellent facilitators for the athletes. They have held things together without any major issues of controversy and distraction like what have plagued the national teams of the past.

There was welcome flexibility, for example, with the rules relating to the pre-championships training camp.

The more relaxed tone seemed to have worked wonders in creating a comfort zone from which the positive output from the track and the field is evident.

Athletics is still Jamaica’s number-one sport in terms of international impact, and despite the temporary and understandable wobble in confidence after the retirement of Bolt, regular service is just about resuming with an exciting and refreshing diversity.