Richard Ashenheim, Contributor
JAMAICA and the United States were the only countries to qualify for the finals of all four relay events.
It was only the second time Jamaica had achieved that in the Olympic Games but it also did the same in the World Championships held in Gottenburg in 1995.
Jamaica's efforts in the four relay finals resulted in two silver medals, one bronze and one fourth place.
Both women's relay teams won silver medals. The 4x100 metres team comprised Tayna Lawrence, school girl Veronica Campbell, Beverly McDonald with Merlene Ottey running in the final in place of Merlene Fraser. They finished second behind Bahamas. The time in the final was 42.13 seconds, which was fractionally better than their time in the semi-finals. Bahamas who brought back Debbie Ferguson into their squad, put up a much improved performance than in the semi-finals. They won by nearly two metres with a time of 41.95.
Their baton changing was good and this probably made the difference as the last change between McDonald and Ottey was quite indifferent. The US anchored by Marion Jones finished in third place less than a metre behind the Jamaicans with a time of 42.40.
The silver medal earned by Jamaica brought Ottey's total of medals at the Olympics to eight which is the most won by a woman in athletics in the history of the Games.
In the 4x400m event Deon Hemmings and Lorraine Graham came into the squad joining Sandie Richards and Catherine Scott-Pomales and replacing Charmaine Howell and Michelle Burgher.
Richards assumed a slight lead and Scott ran well to maintain the position. Monique Hennagan of the US drew level just before the changeover. However, Hemmings was unable to hold off Marion Jones who opened a sizeable lead which the Jamaicans were unable to pull back.
The Americans' winning time was 3:22.62 and they beat the Jamaicans by about five or six metres. The gold medallist in the 400m hurdles Irina Privalova brought the Russian team to third, two metres behind the Jamaicans with Nigeria and Australia just behind.
The second placing was the best Jamaica has achieved in this event in a global meet although the team in the World Championship in Gothenburg in 1995 also passed the post in second position only to disqualified for a lane infringement.
The men's 4x400m squad brought in sprinter Christopher Williams instead of Sanja Ayre. Michael Blackwood gave Jamaica a slight lead over the first leg which Greg Haughton maintained but did not increase in the second lap. Williams who is not really an expert at this distance but had to deputise for the injured Davian Clarke, retained his position handing over the baton in third place behind the US and Bahamas. However, just as he passed the Bahamian close to the finish, the Nigerian anchor runner passed him on the inside. Accordingly, Jamaica won the bronze medal. The US's winning time was 2:56.35 with Nigeria recording 2:58.68 and Jamaica 2:58.78
Jamaica placed fourth in the men's 4x100m. The US, as expected, won the event comfortably with a time of 37.61. Behind them the teams from Brazil, Cuba and Jamaica all ran their season's best and in the case of Brazil and Jamaica also bettered their national records.
The time recorded by the Jamaican in the semi-final was 38.27 which finally erased from the record books to national record of 38.39 which had been established as long ago as 1968 at the high altitude of Mexico City.
Although Jamaica did not win a gold medal at these Games the team performed well and the athletes win a record number of medals.
An examination and analysis of the result of the athletic events show that only 24 out of nearly 200 countries won one or more gold medals in that sport.
Only 44 of those countries won a medal of some sort in athletics. Jamaica's seven medals in athletics placed them fourth equal with Kenya in the table showing the number of medals won by each country in athletics. In this department, Jamaica finished behind the US with 20 medals, Russia 12 and Ethiopia with eight. In this department Jamaica finished ahead of such athletic powers as Cuba, Great Britain, Germany and France.
On the placing table where each country is rated based on the placing of each athlete who finished a final in the first eight places and awarding eight points for a first place, seven for a second and descending to one point for an eighth place, Jamaica placed eighth with 68 points. Ahead was the US in first place with 185 points followed by Russia 132, Germany 100, Great Britain 95, Cuba and Ethiopia 83 each and Kenya 79 points. Poland who had four gold medals and host country Australia were placed behind Jamaica as were Italy, Spain and France.
The organisation of the Games in Sydney was very good. At the past two Olympic Games in Barcelona and Atlanta transport proved to be a major problem.
In Sydney, at least in so far as media transport and transport to the various venues was concerned, special care was taken to remove this problem. When I first arrived in Sydney, the public transport seemed to be a problem but most of that seemed to be as a result of the fact that members of the public who were not directly connected with the Games did not seem aware of the names of some of the Games sites and did not know what the buildings were in civilian life.
The members of the public did their best to help visitors to Sydney by assisting in solving their problems. However, the problem was soon cured by placing Games volunteer workers clad in distinctive Games uniforms in many of the leading railway stations to help visitors.
The night of the opening ceremony was almost a disaster as after the conclusion of the ceremony I was repeatedly misdirected and found great difficulty in finding my way back to the main press centre.
However, all problems were solved and it always appeared there was sufficient buses and regularly and frequently operated and easily identified bus stops to transport us to and from the various venues and other media places speedily and without bother.
All of the buses were driven by volunteers who were in the main businessmen on their holiday who as a matter of national and civic pride were anxious to help in the smooth operations of the Games.
The main press centre was full of helpers who assisted with the distribution of books, magazines and results sheets. They helped with obtaining information, statistical and otherwise, from the computers which were in the press centre and with making telephone calls. Near the end of the Games, I tried to get some statistical information which had been compiled by the IAAF during all the World Championships in recent years. My helper could not find no trace of it in any computer in the main press centre. She then telephoned the athletic centre at the main stadium and enquired from the person who answered the telephone whether that statistic was being produced. He in turn made an enquiry and informed me it was and he had a copy in his hand.
My volunteer quickly found a fax number in the message centre at the press centre and gave it to my telephone helper and also my name. By that time we walked down the passage to the message centre, my fax had been transmitted and was handed to me. Some of the information contained in that has been incorporated in this report.
I overheard one of the volunteers telling a visitor that the attitude of the volunteers was that Australia was so remote from the rest of the world that when they did get the latter to visit them they were determined to put their best foot forward to show them a good time. That, to my mind, is the spirit of hospitality and good service.
No wonder Juan Antonio Samaranch, president of the IOC, in his speech expressing his thanks to the people of Sydney singled out the volunteers for special mention.
Before these Games, I had been repeatedly asked which of the 11 Summer Games I had thought was the best. My response was always that the two Games held in the Orient were first and second respectively - Tokyo in 1964 first with Seoul in 1988 second.
Sydney is the first Games to challenge my previous rating. In a discussion in Sydney on this point a Jamaican colleague who had been in Seoul but not in Tokyo agreed with my assessment that it was, from his perception, between Seoul and Sydney.
At that time both of us expressed a slight preference for Seoul but I now confess that, in hindsight, and on an in-depth analysis of everything I promote Sydney ahead of Seoul but I still rank Tokyo in first place.
Perhaps it shows, if anything, that the further one gets from the western hemisphere or even western Europe the more people retain the old habits of civilisation and the old standards of what constitutes a good host.
Final instalment next Sunday
