New Book Analyzes Jamaica’s Success on the Track

Olympian Vilma Charlton (r) presents the first copy of her and Rachel Irving’s book “Jamaican Gold” to Lamine Diack, president of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India, October 7. Looking on at center is IAAF council member Teddy McCook who wrote the Foreword for “Jamaican Gold”.
Photo by Corinne Clarke

Usain Bolt may be the fastest and most spectacular Jamaican athlete, but he and his countrywoman Shelly-Ann Fraser are standing on the shoulders of fleet-footed giants of both genders and are heirs to a pedigree that goes back at least a 100 years to the teen-aged Norman Manley, and before him. Since the 2008 Beijing Olympics, however, there has been an upsurge in the number of enquiring minds that want to know why Jamaicans run so fast.

Can science explain it? Does the touchy area of genetics — even though, scientifically speaking, there’s no such thing as “race” — explain it? For instance, all the current male world record holders for the sprints — and most of the former for the past 50 years or so — have been born in the Americas, descendants of slaves of West African lineage. Is running fast “in the blood”, so to speak? Or is it as simple as the varieties of yam (22 at last count) to be found in the hills of Jamaica and in the stomachs of its people?

A Publication for Everyone

Behind the simple tales of the tape are theories and questions that have attracted 16 specialists from a range of disciplines — from biochemistry to physiology, from genetics to psychiatry, each with an insight, a piece of the puzzle.

Charlton presents “Jamaican Gold” Dick Fosbury (left), president of the World Olympians Association (WOA) and Anthony Ledgard, Hon Secretary, at the Pan American Congress of WOA in Fort Myers, Florida, November 4 to 7, 2010. Fosbury, an American former high jumper, started and perfected the Fosbury Flop, a technique he used to win gold at the 1968 Olympics. The Fosbury Flop continues to be the dominant style of today. Ledgard is from Lima, Peru.
Photo by Dean ‘The Sportsman’ Greenaway

Now, “Jamaican Gold” by Rachael Irving and Vilma Charlton presents research and argument, history and biography, and much more, for the specialist and the sports fan, for the academic and the coach, in one attractive, easy-to-read volume, packed with photographs and illustrations, including a special section of memorable photos of the heroes of yesteryear and today.

“Jamaican Gold” will officially be available in two months (December). The 2012 London Olympics and next year’s World Championships in Daegu promise to be just as thrilling as the 2008 and 2009 events. This time, however, with a copy of “Jamaican Gold” in your possession, you could be much closer to answering the question: Why do those Jamaicans run so fast?

NOTE: Rachael Irving is Research Fellow in the Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona Campus, Jamaica. She is a member of the International Center for East African Running Science and the American College of Sports Medicine.

Vilma Charlton is a lecturer at the Institute of Education, UWI, Mona. She is a physical education lecturer, an Olympian and president of the Olympians Association of Jamaica.