As it has been in all previous Games, Jamaica's track and field won the bulk of the medals with first places going sprint hurdler Delloreen Ennis-London, decathlete Maurice Smith and the women's 4x100m quartet.

Once she faced the starter, national champion Delloreen Ennis-London was always going to be the one to beat in the women's 100m hurdles. She did not disappoint but had to be at her very best to deny Canada's 2003 world champion, Perdita Felicien. Both were awarded the same time, a Games record, 12.65 seconds.

Smith was also a leading contender for a medal going into the Games. He led at the end of the first day by just nine points (4,370) to Brazil's Carlos Chinin's 4,361 and proved strongest of all on the final day. Smith, now the only Jamaican to win a medal in the event at the Pan American Games, got his medal in style capturing top spot with a Games record 8,278 points.

In the sprint relay, Jamaica, with the best-balanced team, just held on from a fast-finishing United States. A poor baton change at the last handover appeared to have cost the United States the gold. However, they were always under pressure and liable to make mistakes after the brilliant start the Jamaican team got from 200m silver medallist Sheri-Ann Brooks.

The big disappointment in track and field was the inability of the Jamaican management to field a men's sprint relay team. The late withdrawals from the Games will have to be addressed in future by the Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association (JAAA). With Jamaica having so many outstanding sprinters, including world record holder Asafa Powell, it was very embarrassing not to see the national colours in a relay which had only two rounds.

Badminton was represented by two young players at the Games. At the 2003 Games, the sport got a gold and two bronze medals but Calabar old boys Howard Martin and Emelio Mendez would have gained from the experience. In Santo Domingo four years ago, Nigella Saunders won gold in singles and bronze in mixed doubles while Charles Pyne and Bradley Graham got a bronze in men's doubles.

The lack of real match fitness and training time together hampered the women's basketball team which went to the Games for the first time. They gave hosts Brazil a real scare in their opening match but could not keep up that pace in the subsequent matches and ended at the bottom of the eight-team tournament. There is a lot to work on but centre Simone Edwards and guard Vanessa Gidden were both outstanding during the tournament.

The only bronze medal won at the Games came in boxing. Welterweight Ricardo Smith benefited from the absence of Cuban boxer Erislandy Lara. He lost his only fight in the semi-finals, to Brazil's Pedro Lima, after getting two byes.

Featherweight Nicholas Walters, who went to the Games with many expecting him to be among the medals, was unlucky to meet a Cuban in his first bout and was soundly beaten. The margin of victory is a reflection of the fact that, technically, Jamaica's boxers have a far way to go. It appears that neither Walters nor Smith were very familiar with the scoring rules and as such were not able to consistently land punches which would merit a point.

Cyclist Ricardo Lynch went to the Games as a realistic medal prospect but came up short in both his events, the match sprint and keirin. Manager at the Games and cycling association president, Vaughn Phang, said cyclists had to train specifically for events and it appears Lynch was just not sharp enough. He failed to reach the medal round of both events.

Samantha Albert created history in being Jamaica's first equestrian competitor at the Games. She had competed previously in a Pan American championships in 1991.

Albert was competitive in the first two days, going up to sixth place, but the rigours of the cross-country were too much for Before I Do It. Unfortunately for the 12-year-old mare the final day of Eventing was held on one of the hottest of the Games and she refused to jump one of the early obstacles in the showjumping section. Albert has vowed to be back with a horse which can handle all conditions.

Unlike the men, the women's team had a disappointing time in Brazil. The lack of good background work took its toll and three games in six days was too much. The Girlz were whipped 5-0 and 11-1 by Brazil and Canada, respectively, in their last two matches.

In swimming, Jamaica had a number of fair results. The island's best swimmer, Alia Atkinson, set three national records on her way to reaching the women's 100m butterfly, 100m breaststroke and 200m breaststroke finals. Brad Hamilton also set a national record in the men's 100m butterfly. It will be some time before the swimmers are challenging for medals at the Games, however. The national records are sometimes many seconds behind the winning times at the Games. All three swimmers at the Games were under 20 and should improve in the next two years.

Like boxing, the tae kwon do representative Kenneth Edwards was outclassed 5-0 in his only fight by Venezuela's Carlos Vasquez. It was clear also that he lacked the necessary skills to go a far way in the tournament and was well behind in points from very early.