Is nature or nurture behind Jamaica's need for speed?

 

Some say it’s in the genes. Others credit the local yams and green bananas. Sports analysts reckon world-class coaches played the key role. Cultural commentators credit a straightforward love of speed which, in previous eras, inspired the nation’s most gifted sportsmen to devote their careers to sending cricket balls towards rib cages at high velocity.

The utter domination of sprinting by a small Caribbean island with a population of less than three million has left commentators reaching for superlatives. Of the 12 individual medals so far awarded in London’s 100 and 200 metre events, eight have gone to Jamaicans. Three were gold. In 2008, they won all four of the men’s and women’s races.

Usain Bolt will tonight attempt to increase the haul by leading his country’s men to a second successive victory in the 4x100m relay. The women went late last night. Whatever the results, Jamaica now represents as unrivalled a force in sprint running as Kenya at the middle and longer distances. But why?

One obvious answer is genetic. Average Jamaicans are blessed with long limbs, low fat levels, and narrow hips. Previous Olympic champions such as Donovan Bailey, who won Gold for Canada in 1996, and Britain’s Linford Christie, showcased the natural potential of the build: they were born in the country, before emigrating as children.

So much for “nature.” On the “nurture” front, Jamaica’s relatively healthy staple foods play a role. Most star athletes come from rural areas, where they grow up walking long distances and drinking water instead of soft drinks, and eating lots of vegetables. When Bolt won gold in Beijing in 2008, his father, Wellesley, told reporters that his speed stemmed from yams that grow in his native north-west of the island.

Coaching has almost certainly also been pivotal. In previous eras, Jamaica's top young athletes often emigrated to top US colleges. Often they never returned. Now the world’s best coaches, including the great Dennis Johnson, and Bolt's mentor Glen Mills, are based at home. So they tend to stay.

The final piece of the jigsaw is cultural. Sprinting is now Jamaica’s de facto national sport. Children start at the age of three, and begin competing at six. They generally train on grass, which many believe is more effective than artificial surfaces for developing athletes. The national school track championships, known locally as “Champs,” are now more closely watched that West Indies test matches and national football fixtures.

Of course, to the heroes of any fashionable sport come spoils. For ambitious young Jamaicans, sprinting has duly come to represent a path out of poverty. Bolt earned an estimated $20m last year, according to Forbes. He drives fast cars, dates beautiful women, and was this week described by Reuters as: “the island’s top celebrity after... Bob Marley.” In the land of reggae, you don't get any bigger than that.

Independent Comment
blog comments powered by Disqus
Caption competition
Caption competition
News in pictures
World news in pictures
Sport blogs

New day (slowly) rising – As Brasileirão gets underway, Brazilian football stumbles, rather than leaps into the future

The average Serie A crowd last year was 13,000 - comparable to Australia’s A-League.

by James Young

iBet: Mercedes and Hamilton to roar in Monaco

Monaco is a street circuit where driver ability is more important than anywhere else and if we take ...

by Gareth Purnell

On The Road at the Giro d’Italia: It sounds sadistic, but the team live for the mountain stages

Three weeks ago as I drove off the Eurostar, I remember thinking what a very long time it was until ...

by Martin Ayres

       

Day In a Page

James Pembroke: The man who's eaten everywhere

The man who's eaten everywhere

Few people know more about restaurants than James Pembroke, who only spent five mealtimes at home during his entire childhood.
A Berliner in 1963 – but did John F Kennedy once admire Adolf Hitler?

A Berliner in 1963 – but did John F Kennedy once admire Adolf Hitler?

The young JFK praised 'superior' Nordic races during visits to Germany
Banned Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof to attend Cannes Film Festival 2013, his first public appearance since prison

Banned Iranian director to attend Cannes Film Festival

Mohammad Rasoulof to make his first public appearance since being imprisoned three years ago
Seeing the larger picture: Inspiring images of space

Seeing the larger picture: Inspiring images of space

An exhibition explores images how photography has shaped astronomy
Eat Spam and carry on: Wartime pamphlets could teach us a thing or two about healthy, thrifty eating

Eat Spam and carry on

Wartime pamphlets could teach us a thing or two about healthy, thrifty eating
Facial hair: Cat beards and the purrrsuit of excellence

Facial hair

Cat beards and the purrrsuit of excellence
The 10 Best salt and pepper sets

The 10 Best salt and pepper sets

Whether they're for everyday use or to make your dining table look just right, it's worth getting a stylish shaker...
Ferran Soriano: Predicting success if Manchester City 'vision' is followed

Ferran Soriano: Predicting success if Manchester City 'vision' is followed

Chief executive says trophies will come if a 'core' of suitable players is in place
Thomas Müller: We couldn't handle losing a Champions League Final again

Thomas Müller: We couldn't handle losing a Champions League Final again

The Bayern Munich forward tells Tim Rich his side have to shed chokers' tag after two recent final defeats
Giro d'Italia: The Stelvio Pass - cycling's killer climb

The Stelvio Pass - cycling's killer climb

As the Giro d'Italia tackles the brutal climb, Simon Usborne takes on the snow and switchbacks – and soon realises what the fuss is about
National archives: Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them

Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them

Newly unearthed papers reveal a shocking extra dimension to the constitutional crisis over monarch’s abdication
Sent down at the Old Bailey: A tour of the world's most famous court

Sent down at the Old Bailey

A tour of the world's most famous court
Hollywood's random acts of red-carpet kindness

Hollywood's random acts of red-carpet kindness

The Hangover actor Zach Galifianakis’s date for his movie premieres isn’t arm candy  – it’s his 87-year-old friend who he saved from homelessness
British football scores an own goal

British football scores an own goal

Many managers barely survive a year in post. Martin Baker talks to experts who make a case for clubs using forensic business skills to find the best staff
James Lawton: Sergio Garcia cracks as major fault line opens up again

James Lawton

Sergio Garcia cracks as major fault line opens up again