THE SUPERB gold medal winning run by the quartet of Jamaican sprinters Veronica Campbell, Aleen Bailey, Sherone Simpson and Tayna Lawrence was a magnificent addition to Jamaica's participation in this year's Olympics in Athens, Greece.
With a disqualification for the men's 4x 400 metres relay team, injuries and close misses in the finals of the sprint hurdles and long jump threatening to put a damper on the celebrations of the previous two days' achievements, the girls once again gave a superlative boost to Jamaica's morale.
While it is arguable whether the United States 4x100 relay team might have fared better had they not botched the baton exchange, the fighting form of the Jamaicans suggested the gold was definitely theirs for the taking. And our fashionably-clad girls did it setting a new national record of 41.3 seconds in the process.
Amid the euphoria, there will still be some disappointment that the team to Athens may not garner as many or more than the seven medals copped in Syndey, Australia four years ago. A long history of outstanding performance on the international scene has led us to have high expectations of all our athletes. The result is that we sometimes fail fully to appreciate their excellent performance when compared with many other countries with much more resources available to contribute to athletic programmes. The fourth place finish by Mark Wignall in the 110 metre hurdles final, missing out on a bronze medal to the defending Olympic Champion from Cuba by .001 of a second, and James Beckford's missing a bronze by one centimetre, reinforces the point that Jamaicans can compete with the best in the world and hold our heads high.
Danny McFarlane with his Herculean effort in the 400 metres hurdles to win a silver medal on Thursday and the Jamaican girls' outstanding performance have given us much cause to celebrate. Veronica Campbell's quiet determination clearly inspired her colleagues to give it their all. The mythical gods on Mount Olympus would have been pleased.
The lessons from this week's performance in Athens should not be discarded as we return to the humdrum of daily life next week. We can put them hard work, determination, focus and discipline to good effect whether in academics, business or sport.
THE OPINIONS ON THIS PAGE, EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE, DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE GLEANER.
