Caribbean at the Olympics – Part 2

by Renwick Rose

The Rio Olympics of 2016 are now well underway, in spite of all the controversy in which they were shrouded. The ongoing doping scandal continues to be a bother, but by and large, emphasis has shifted in the right direction – to the competition itself. Medals are already being awarded in several sports and with the athletics events set to commence this weekend, the Games will truly take centre stage at a global level, providing a welcome respite to the daily news diet of terrorism, war, crime and drugs.{{more}}

Caribbean fans will, this time, have unprecedented coverage, live on television. It was not always like that, for, before the TV age, in our part of the world, Caribbean fans had to depend on radio coverage, mostly via BBC’s iconic Sports Round-up. Fortunately, we are past that now and fans, young and old, can follow their sporting heroes in live action.

The first three days of competition have so far not brought any medals to Caribbean participants, but that does not mean that they have not been making their presence felt. Small the Caribbean nations might be, but they have always made a mark on sports globally. The Olympics has, over the years, been witness to outstanding performances from athletes from this region, and not just in athletics, as some are wont to believe.

In the very second Games, in Paris in 1900, Cuba won two medals, a precious gold and a silver in fencing. Haiti’s lone medal was a bronze, in shooting in 1924. The Bahamas has won gold and bronze in sailing more than a half a century ago. There have been Caribbean medals in swimming too – a gold for Suriname’s Anthony Nesty in the 100 metres butterfly in 1988, followed by a bronze in the same event four years later, whilst Trinidad and Tobago’s veteran George Bovell will be hoping to add to the bronze he won in 2004 when he competes in his pet 50 metre freestyle.

Swimming, in fact, represents a growth area for the Caribbean, for this time, even tiny nations like St Vincent and the Grenadines, the British Virgin Islands, and Antigua and Barbuda, staked their presence in the pool, all with young swimmers. This bodes well for the future of Caribbean swimming. Most impressive of all is the teenage Jamaican sensation, Alia Atkinson, who was due to swim in the finals of the 100 metre breaststroke last night.

There are encouraging signs in other areas as well. The teenaged Jamaican Toni-Ann Williams, with financial support from the famed entertainer Beenie Man, is the first gymnast to represent her country, whilst her compatriot Yona Knight-Wisdom also made history by becoming the first Jamaican diver at the Olympics. Trinidad and Tobago has representation in gymnastics too and Felice Aisha Chow is not only the first Trinidadian rower at the Olympics, but as of yesterday (Monday) was doing quite well.

One cannot talk Olympics without the stunning performances of Cuban boxers over the years coming to mind. This has been its strongest area and legendary boxers like Teofilo Stevenson, who has Vincentian connections, and Felix Savon, each won three successive gold medals in the ring. Cuba also participates in a number of other sports, such as judo, gymnastics, wrestling and rowing.

All these will have to take a back seat when the athletics get going on Friday, August 12th. We will therefore look at Caribbean expectations and past performances in the third instalment of this series in our next issue.