4x4phreek wrote:
Lastly, someone else had mentioned Jamaicans running for other countries - and I asked for a list, but particularly of those that have run for Olympic gold in the short sprints. Are you aware of specific names to support that point?
Highly Bekelaselassie wrote:
Donovan Bailey and Bruny Surin for Canada...
justafew wrote:
Sandra Richards, Linford Christie, Donovan Bailey, Colin Jackson, Inger Miller, Charmaine Crooks
Thanks Highly and justafew. I'll add three more to the list - Debbie Dunn and Jerome Young - both having run for the USA, and Ben Johnson also, running for Canada.
So the assertion that's been made is that there would not appear to be any sudden surge in Jamaica's historical sprinting record if Jamaican runners hadn't run for other countries. Let's look at the record:
Bruny Surin is actually Haitian-born (Cap-Haïtien, Haiti), not Jamaican.
Colin Jackson is British-born (Cardiff, Wales).
Inger Miller is American-born (Los Angeles, California).
Linford Christie is indeed Jamaican-born - but to claim him, you also have to claim his two-year ban for PED use. But even insisting on his inclusion how do you reconcile that he actually moved to Great Britain when he was just seven - thus fundamentally absorbing his track & field ethos from, and receiving his track development within, Great Britain. That's too much of a stretch if the point is to credit Jamaica for world-dominating sprinter development. Let's just disqualify him.
Debbie Dunn also is Jamaican-born - but ran in the U.S. from high school on, including for the U.S. in international competition. It's unclear how young she was when she came over to the U.S. But ignoring that, to claim her, you'd also have to claim her two-year ban for PED use Let's disqualify her.
Jerome Young is Jamaican-born as well, and like Dunn, ran in the U.S. from high school on, including for the U.S. in international competition. It's unclear how young he was when he came over to the U.S. But ignoring that, to claim him, you'd also have to claim his lifetime ban for PED use Let's disqualify him, too.
Ben Johnson, of course, is Jamaican-born - but sparing the details of his PED saga and subsequent lifetime ban, we'll disqualify him from the list for obvious reasons.
Charmaine Crooks also is Jamaican-born, and it's unclear at what age she moved to Canada. Ignoring that, Crooks' sprinting career produced no Olympic gold medals for Jamaica to also claim to its credit. So factoring her in doesn't drop any gold medals into that gap between McKenley/Rhoden (1952) and the surge beginning in 2004 with Veronica Campbell-Brown (where only Don Quarrie's 1976 200m Olympic gold stands).
Sanya Richards-Ross - Wow! Yes indeed, Jamaican born - and I think I'd be mad if I were Jamaican. What a beast! She came to the U.S. when she was 12, specifically to improve her track prospects. But for certain she got her track start in Jamaica, looking promising even then. Her only individual Olympic gold came in 2012. This is long after the Jamaican surge began in 2004 - and obviously doesn't fall into the five decades-long gap where only Don Quarrie's gold medal stands. Thus, there is no change to the central premise with Richards-Ross' inclusion.
Donovan Bailey is last on the list- and by background, shares some things in common with Ben Johnson. Like Ben Johnson, Bailey was born in Jamaica. Both left Jamaica at an early age (age 15 for Johnson, age 13 for Bailey) - long before coming to sprinting prominence. In Canada, they both experienced periods of rapid improvement in short order. Johnson's improvements are well-chronicled. What's interesting about Donovan Bailey's career is that he didn't begin serious track running until 1991 - at age 24. Moving from the business world, Bailey topped out at 10.36 for 100m for the next three years, before dropping his time to 10.03 within a three month period in 1994. Within another year he owned the Canadian record at 9.91, and one year later he was the Olympic champion and world record holder at 9.84.
As many may remember, Bailey himself was often scrutinized in regards to PED use - but never was publicly implicated. Nevertheless, fellow sprinter Ben Johnson was dubious of Bailey's feat: "Asked if he thought Bailey used performance-enhancing drugs, Johnson responded: 'I'm not saying he did or he didn't. I'm just saying people at that level aren't clean.' "
Bailey's only individual Olympic gold came in 1996. This is before the Jamaican surge began in 2004 - and joins with Don Quarrie's gold medal in the five decades-long gap from 1952 to 2004. We'll include this for Jamaica to claim to its credit.
So in total, can we say of Jamaicans who ran for other countries, that had they instead competed for Jamaica, there would have been no appearance - and fact - of a sudden Jamaican sprint surge beginning in 2004? Even with the inclusion of Bailey's one individual Olympic gold - two Olympic golds in 52 years still does not change the central premise that there was a sudden surge in 2004. Remember - 11 Jamaican Olympic gold medals in just 8 years.
What's more, to credit these other Jamaican runners who ran for other countries - well, it's a damning record. Over half of them - 4 out of 7 - were sanctioned for PED use - including two with the severest penalty - lifetime bans.