The attitude of champions

I studied mathematics (special) at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica between 1970- 1973 and saw first-hand how Champs galvanised an entire nation. Many sport-loving Trinis living in hall got caught up in the action, supporting whichever school our Jamaican friends supported or the underdog, depending on one’s mood.

It is safe to say that the fervour generated by Champs has not waned in 43 years and is unlikely to do so in the near future.

By comparison, in TT , only those directly involved know when the school championships are taking place or who wins.

But that’s not surprising. In many cases, school sports have degenerated into who gets more “likes” on Facebook, who can post the most trashy video or make the most abusive comments.

But there’s another important reason why Jamaica is more successful — attitude. Let me ask a (very) hypothetical question. If one of our athletes had won two gold medals and one silver medal at the Rio Olympics (or even one gold), what do you think would have happened this last week? I’m sure we all know: massive crowd at the airport to welcome the athlete, politicians falling over themselves to pay tribute, partying for days, all kinds of rewards, you know the drill. I suspect the athlete would have been all too willing to lap it up with immediate competition the furthest thing from his/her mind.

Now consider what some of the Jamaican athletes were up to last weekend, less than one week after the Rio closing ceremony. On Friday, Elaine Thompson (two gold, one silver) was competing in (and winning) the 100 meters at the Diamond League meet in Lausanne. Also in the race were her teammates Veronica Campbell- Brown and Christen Williams.

Omar Macleod (gold in Rio) was running the 110 metres hurdles — he placed second but that is unimportant to my point.

Ossify Powell won the 100 metres.

Megan Simmons ran the 100 metres hurdles.

On Saturday at the Paris Diamond League, Jamaicans in action were Simone Face (200 metres), Aisla Preached (3,000 metres steeplechase), Stephanie Ann McPherson and Christine Day (400 metres).

TT ’s lone competitor over the weekend was Keshorn Walcott (javelin). He placed fifth but, again, that’s unimportant. It’s his attitude that impresses.

In the lead-up to the Olympics there were ten Diamond League meets, in addition to other global events. I was continually surprised at the strong Jamaican presence at these meets compared to a dearth of TT athletes. Notable exceptions were Michelle-Lee Ahye, Machel Cedenio, Cleopatra Borel and Walcott. Isn’t it remarkable that these four were our best performers at the Rio Games? Do we see a link between attitude and success?

NOEL KALICHARAN via email