Dr Orville Taylor, Contributor
Well, the question has been answered and you all know who the fastest man in the world is, or rather, who was fastest yesterday. For the record, I did say that it would have been Asafa Powell. So, you can now tell me that I was stupid. Nevertheless, I had my reasons for sticking to my choice. Later on today we will see if any of our golden girls can add to the jewellery box.
After the first two rounds of sprinting, my strong Jamaican-cum-Caribbean pride was augmented and call it whatever you will, we are the fastest set of people on Earth. Ten of the 18 sprinters entered in the 100 metres who run 10.0 and below, are from this region, and the two most versatile male sprinters the world has ever seen are 'Yard man.'
As raw talent goes, Usain Bolt is cut from the same fabric as the legendary Herb McKenley. You may wish to disagree as someone who cuts your own cloth, but no two athletes have ever shown the range of talent as these two. One will recall that McKenley lost his 'sure' Olympic gold to his countryman Arthur Wint in London in 1948. At the time, he was the leading quarter-miler in the world and expected to shatter the world record again. The finals of yesterday are very reminiscent of this and interestingly, the showdown of two Jamaicans reoccurred in Helsinki in 1952, with McKenley mistiming his run and just could not catch George Rhoden. It was almost as close a finish as the Stockholm Grand Prix, where Bolt ran out of track as he gained on Powell.
15-metre deficit
McKenley later put on a run that had the Finnish crowd shouting "Mita?" (What?) obliterating a 15-metre deficit to ensure that the medal was nothing but kulta! ('Gold' in Finnish).
In those games, he became and is still, the only man to make the finals of the 100, 200 and 400 in the same Olympics. Xavier Carter of the United States has done it in the American collegiate championships and a few Jamaican high-school athletes, such as Ali Watson, have accomplished the feat at our national championships, but the Olympics are different. Usain Bolt is that rare breed of athlete that can run sub-10 for the 100 metres, sub-20 for the 200 metres and sub-44 for the 400 metres. He is 'McKenleyesque' and should run a leg on the 4x400. This is a great time to be alive because I have had a glimpse of the past in McKenley and seen the present and future in Bolt and Powell. They are phenomenal.
Still, the question must be asked as to what the games are about. One is of the distinct impression that it should be the stage for the best of the best and it is almost sacrilege to have them in the same races with novices. In the flagship sport of track and field, shouldn't there be a bar? Given some of the participants, or rather, attendees in the races, the only bar that seems to be in operation is that at which the International Olympic Committee (IOC) members drink, and too much at that.
The Jamaican athletes have complained of too much blood being taken and that Asafa and Usain got more pricks than Tyson Gay or the Chinese competitors. Indeed, it is the IOC that needs to be tested for mind-altering drugs.
Sports such as basketball, soccer, baseball and even the limited tae kwon do, have eliminations and thus, allow only the cream of the crop, not the 'cream of the crap,' to participate in the games.
It was extremely painful to see athletes running in sprint events but giving the benefit of real time slow motion. How can it be justified to have in the same races with almost 20 men who can run 10.00 seconds or faster for the 100 metres, a set of joggers, who max out at well over 11.0 seconds? While Bolt, Michael Frater, Gay, Powell and others trotted to just over 10 seconds, poor Tonsacktheva Souksavanh took as many seconds as letters in his first name, and you guessed it , came in 'Laos.'
Serious runners
Why should Rabangaki Nirwai of Kirbati hold up the field of serious runners with his Sunday stroll of 11.29, a 'season's best,' that would not have taken him to the finals of the women's race at the Jamaican trials.
Similarly, Cook Islander Gordon Teokai Heather ran the very feminine time of a personal best 11.41, and Okilani Tinilau of Tuvalu established a national record of 11.48. Yet, it gets worse. Shanahan Sanitoa of American Samoa rumbled to 12.60, a time perhaps impressive in that nation where 80 per cent of the population is clinically overweight, but embarrassing in the premier Olympic event.
Thankfully, Reginaldo Micha Ndong did not hurt himself as he walked to 11.61. This athlete from Equatorial Guinea, the only Spanish-speaking country in Africa, brought to mind his countryman Eric Moussambani. In the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Moussambani almost drowned as he struggled to complete the 100 metres freestyle in a long-playing 'record' of 1:52.72 seconds, more time than it takes for the average Olympian to swim the 200 metres. On a positive note, he halved his personal record by the time the Athens Olympics came along four years later.
Mixing 'wannabee' athletes with thoroughbreds is like combining our exclusive Blue Mountain coffee with Kopi Luwak, an exotic blend made from the defecated beans swallowed by the civet cat. It's difficult to gather and watch, and certainly too much to swallow.
Thankfully, there are no kindergarten teams in the relays.
Dr Orville Taylor is senior lecturer in the Department of Sociology, Psychology and Social Work at UWI, Mona. Feedback may be sent to orville.taylor@uwimona.edu.jm or columns@gleanerjm.com.
