Orville Taylor

You might think that this column is about the recent controversial acquittal in a prominent murder case. Perhaps! However, you will have to read on to see if that is so. Right now the stage belongs to Herb Mac, among the greatest sprinters ever and unquestionably the dean of modern Jamaican track and field.

McKenley can easily be said to be Jamaica's answer to America's Jesse Owens. Owens, it will be remembered, humiliated Adolph Hitler at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, with quadruple gold medals in the 100 metres, 200 metres, long jump and the 4x100 metres relay. A much more versatile athlete, Herb's more colourful medals are three silver and one gold; but what a gold it was.

After a disappointing 400 metres silver in the 1948 London Olympics and again at the 1952 Helsinki games, he ran the 400-metre relay leg of his life. Getting the baton some 15 metres behind Charlie Moore, the winner of the 400 metres hurdles, he kept his composure and whittled away the lead until he passed him as if he were an incumbent police deputy commissioner awaiting promotion.

Relay runners know that 400- metre hurdlers are strong, fearsome and extremely difficult to catch or outrun on relay legs. For example, in the 1991 World Championships, Britain's 400m hurdles winner, Kriss Akabusi, ran around the flat 400 metres champion, Antonio Pettigrew, for gold. In the women's race, Briton, Sally Gunnell, the 400m hurdles gold medallist, broke Jamaica's heart, eclipsing Sandie Richards to steal bronze.

decisive factor

In Helsinki, Herb was the decisive factor as he gave his anchor runner, George Rhoden, a two-metre lead, which he kept to deliver gold, beating the Americans in a world record 3:03.9. Only 20 national teams have run faster than this in 2007, even with Mondo tracks, high-tech spikes, better training equipment and methods and 'supplements'. It is faster than Nigeria, Brazil, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Italy and Zimbabwe have run this year.

More astounding was his split time on the relay leg, an amazing 44.6, still unattainable by some of our current top 400-metre runners. This was 1.3 seconds faster than his world record of 45.9. Compare this to Michael Johnson's 42.92 leg in 1993, which, though scintillating, was only 0.35 second faster than Butch Reynolds' then world record of 43.29 and just 0.24 second beyond his subsequent record of 43.18.

He is unlike Reynolds, Johnson and a slew of 'clean' American athletes, commonly believed to have touched the 'cushumpeng' named 'Herb,' this country boy from Pleasant Valley in Clarendon maybe only used, cerassee, sarsaparilla, strong back, Irish moss and linseed.

A Calabar all-rounder, it is recorded in the Chronicles of Rabalac that he represented his school in football and cricket as well as track and field. He still is the only person to reach the Olympic finals of the 100, 200 and 400 metres. Like Merlene Ottey later, he lost the 100 metres race to an American the photos don't appear to vindicate that result.

best attended games

Nevertheless, it is off the track that his impact has been most felt. Almost all Jamaican athletes, since Independence, have experienced his influence. Through his energy, the annual high school championships have become the best-attended games in the hemisphere. Hundreds of athletes have gained scholarships to American colleges, with many moving on to Olympic and professional glory. New scientific approaches to training have led to us being the global sprint capital and our athletes are learning to relax under pressure.

True, Asafa recently suffered from the same 'butt-lockitis' that cost McKenley his gold in 1948, when he tightened up, but he is learning to emulate Herb on the relay leg. After all, Asafa is better endowed to produce a more impressive third leg in the shorter race.

Still no hero is perfect and Herb is reputed to have overzealously pushed a number of young athletes too far and too hard in trying to make Calabar win Champs. A few, but still too many, have shone only at Champs and disappeared into oblivion. Some suffered avoidable injuries as under-15 athletes, never to complete their promised athletic lives. It is always a tragedy when young careers are cut short.

This is what happened at Jamaica College, Calabar's perpetual nemesis, on the same day that Herb died. Two lives were destroyed; that of 17-year-old Mortiman Golding, stabbed to death by his schoolmate over a silly dispute sparked by a firecracker. The second is that of the killer, who, from all accounts, might have been provoked. Perhaps the youngster will be convicted of the capital charge, maybe not. Whichever way, it is a tragedy.

exonerated

Interestingly, the same day young Golding died, Rodney Beckles, son of a senior University of the West Indies (UWI) academic, was exonerated from murdering Khalil Campbell, son of High Court Justice Lennox Campbell. Like McKenley's adjudged loss to Lindy Remigino, the verdict was unpopular as Beckles is bigger and Campbell's body had 19 stab wounds, including some defensive ones. There are also allegations of class bias. Yet, a judge is also very high-class. Therefore, if there were any injustice, it would have to be linked to other factors.

Nevertheless, this is not unusual, given the vagaries of the justice system we have adopted. Many persons convicted by the public have been exonerated by courts. These include; Reneto Adams, who 'Kraaled' free, and O.J. Simpson, who the glove did not fit.

Whatever the popular sentiments, there is no winner here, because sons are lost. Furthermore, we have simply got too accustomed to homicides. Imagine, two policemen and more than a dozen in two days.

Dr. Orville Taylor is senior lecturer in the Department of Sociology, Psychology and Social Work at the University of the West Indies, Mona.