4 golds can win inaugural World Relay Champs

[Stonigut]

Winning the 4*1 and 4*2 for males and females will pretty much guarantee winning relays that is not an easy order but it is very possible with a little luck and lots of focus.

Only ten gold medals in the total pot, winning five would be better but chances of five are slim to none.

With five relays on each side of the gender divide.

Us will probably win the 4*4's.

4*8 and 15 will be spilt between a number of countries.

Let's see should be interesting.

[Historian]

Good Post, As Usual

Interesting discussion, Stoni, and I appreciate the fact that you are keeping alive an interest in this apparently underrated global event (underrated because, I suspect, it’s new).

You have mentioned the key phrases: “With a little luck and lots of focus.” As far as I’m concerned, you are absolutely correct in your comments here.

Last year in Moscow our 4x100-meter women (Carrie Russell, Kerron Stewart, Schillonie Calvert and Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce) ran 41.29 seconds, the second time in history by a women’s relay team!! This is not to be taken for granted, despite the baton change drama between the USA’s Alexandria Anderson and English Gardner! (I just watched yet again my DVD recording of this race last night.)

Jamaica CAN win the women’s 4x100-meter relay, and by extension, the women’s 4x200-meter. To achieve this, though, the coaches need to put the right combination together (as they obviously did in the 4x100-meter relay last year in Moscow and also at the London 2012 Olympic Games, where we broke a long-standing Olympic Games record).

With the men, the absence of Usain Bolt does not mean that we cannot win the sprint relays! Thanks to the much maligned Asafa Powell, today’s Jamaica is overwhelmed with first-class male sprinters, and with the “luck” and “focus” that you mentioned, we can win both the 4x100-meter and 4x200-meter relays. With Bolt being a no-show, the absence of Justin Gatlin simply evens out the score.

I might post a comment on the 4x400-meter relays tomorrow when I have a bit more time, but suffice it to say that the USA will win both the women’s and men’s 4x400-meter relay.

Winning the 4*1 and 4*2 for males and females will pretty much guarantee winning relays that is not an easy order but it is very possible with a little luck and lots of focus.

Only ten gold medals in the total pot, winning five would be better but chances of five are slim to none.

With five relays on each side of the gender divide.

Us will probably win the 4*4's.

4*8 and 15 will be spilt between a number of countries.

Let's see should be interesting.

[Historian]

The Ultimate Winner!

The Ultimate Winner, of course, will be the small archipelago known as the Bahamas! They had the foresight to campaign in 2012 to be the venue of this event, and the millions of television viewers across the planet who will see their country and vibrant culture will surely be a major boost to their tourism industry!

Yes, “Sports Tourism” is the new frontier, and Jamaica has been missing this boat since 2004 and before! Continuing to depend on reggae, dancehall, jerk chicken, beef patties and rastas will no longer cut it in the 21st century!

[Jangle]

When the Chinese land we will be tourists in our own country.

[Stonigut]

Hey, hold on there bredrin, the first thing I do upon landing in Ja is head to the first Tastee or Juici beef patty that my PSR can find (patty seeking radar), I follow that up with some coconut water and jelly, head to the house play some real reggae music then seek out the best jerk stand for dinner, does life get any better than that, yes it does, some fish and bammy at Scott's cove, fish and festival at Hellshire, everything at little Ochi, eating anything anywhere on Treasure beach, let me stop, too many images for my brain.

That is the real Jamaican difference right there, People will very quickly forget other places as a cultural vibe will be essential, no indispensable in the future. We can have both as Deon Sanders used to say, roots culture plus sports tourism.

[Stonigut]

Hey, you know what with a little less focus and luck Kenya could easily pick up four gold as well. Men and women's 4*8 and 4*15, of course if we medal in 4*4's assuming we do the heavy lifting on the sprints we should be in front of Kenya. Can't see Kenya medalling in 4*4's.

[Stonigut]

Jangle we would be lucky if we can get some good settler minded people to come and really invest in jamaica.

[Historian]

Don't Get Me Wrong....

Hey, hold on there bredrin, the first thing I do upon landing in Ja is head to the first Tastee or Juici beef patty that my PSR can find (patty seeking radar), I follow that up with some coconut water and jelly, head to the house play some real reggae music then seek out the best jerk stand for dinner, does life get any better than that, yes it does, some fish and bammy at Scott's cove, fish and festival at Hellshire, everything at little Ochi, eating anything anywhere on Treasure beach, let me stop, too many images for my brain.

That is the real Jamaican difference right there, People will very quickly forget other places as a cultural vibe will be essential, no indispensable in the future. We can have both as Deon Sanders used to say, roots culture plus sports tourism.

Don’t get me wrong, Stoni. I’m by no means dismissing our rich culture (which, to me, is the envy of other countries both inside and outside this region). I can think of no other island in the world that has impacted the globe in a greater way with its culture than Jamaica has (food, music, rasta, lifestyles including food).

What has ****ed me off is the fact that, like Cuba, we have completely missed the sports tourism initiative! There is no way that the present lady should have been Sports Minister in Jamaica! I mean, sports is such a central feature of Jamaican life, and a sports tourism initiative would have done a lot, I believe, to shore up our underperforming tourism industry.

Yes, I am fully aware of the recent growth in stopover visitors to our beautiful shores, but after so many decades in the industry, we should be beyond boasting of “a mere” two million visitors!

We play sports, but our international success and visibility has been due to a handful of underappreciated individuals, including Capt. Horace Burrell, Stephen “Franno” Francis, Glen Mills, Donald Quarrie, Dennis Johnson, and a handful of high school track and field coaches! Our useless government and sports authorities (JAAA, etc.) have absolutely no vision for sports beyond mere playing, and so, in a sense, they are as irrelevant as that most irrelevant entity of them all, JADCO!!

In this sports tourism failure we are exactly like Cuba (and several other Caribbean countries).

[Jangle]

Don’t get me wrong, Stoni. I’m by no means dismissing our rich culture (which, to me, is the envy of other countries both inside and outside this region). I can think of no other island in the world that has impacted the globe in a greater way with its culture than Jamaica has (food, music, rasta, lifestyles including food).

What has ****ed me off is the fact that, like Cuba, we have completely missed the sports tourism initiative! There is no way that the present lady should have been Sports Minister in Jamaica! I mean, sports is such a central feature of Jamaican life, and a sports tourism initiative would have done a lot, I believe, to shore up our underperforming tourism industry.

Yes, I am fully aware of the recent growth in stopover visitors to our beautiful shores, but after so many decades in the industry, we should be beyond boasting of “a mere” two million visitors!

We play sports, but our international success and visibility has been due to a handful of underappreciated individuals, including Capt. Horace Burrell, Stephen “Franno” Francis, Glen Mills, Donald Quarrie, Dennis Johnson, and a handful of high school track and field coaches! Our useless government and sports authorities (JAAA, etc.) have absolutely no vision for sports beyond mere playing, and so, in a sense, they are as irrelevant as that most irrelevant entity of them all, JADCO!!

In this sports tourism failure we are exactly like Cuba (and several other Caribbean countries).

[Jangle]

Stoni it's nothing for China to ship over 100k of its people to the Republic of Goat Island and spread out like a swarm of locust onto the mainland. That food and culture that you fantasize about could be seriously watered down in the next 20 years. Think is lie? Does your kids know who is Anancy?

[Stonigut]

Not much evidence of forced Chinese migration to any place in particular outside of China, best example of forced migration is conscripted labor camps curtesy of Japanese bringing in Chinese labor to japan in WWII era.

I also see where there is significant migration into South Africa now close to a million people of Chinese ancestry in South Africa out of about thirty five million, half of that number have been there a long time, the other half is recent migration, mostly work related.

Not sure if there is much to worry about here.

[Peter R]

Interesting discussion, Stoni, and I appreciate the fact that you are keeping alive an interest in this apparently underrated global event (underrated because, I suspect, it’s new).

You have mentioned the key phrases: “With a little luck and lots of focus.” As far as I’m concerned, you are absolutely correct in your comments here.

Last year in Moscow our 4x100-meter women (Carrie Russell, Kerron Stewart, Schillonie Calvert and Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce) ran 41.29 seconds, the second time in history by a women’s relay team!! This is not to be taken for granted, despite the baton change drama between the USA’s Alexandria Anderson and English Gardner! (I just watched yet again my DVD recording of this race last night.)

Jamaica CAN win the women’s 4x100-meter relay, and by extension, the women’s 4x200-meter. To achieve this, though, the coaches need to put the right combination together (as they obviously did in the 4x100-meter relay last year in Moscow and also at the London 2012 Olympic Games, where we broke a long-standing Olympic Games record).

With the men, the absence of Usain Bolt does not mean that we cannot win the sprint relays! Thanks to the much maligned Asafa Powell, today’s Jamaica is overwhelmed with first-class male sprinters, and with the “luck” and “focus” that you mentioned, we can win both the 4x100-meter and 4x200-meter relays. With Bolt being a no-show, the absence of Justin Gatlin simply evens out the score.

I might post a comment on the 4x400-meter relays tomorrow when I have a bit more time, but suffice it to say that the USA will win both the women’s and men’s 4x400-meter relay.

What do you mean by that? (the part I bolded)

[Peter R]

Why do you say they are "under-appreciated"? I guess you're saying the country hasn't taken any advantage of their expertise to capitalise on sports tourism? What could have been done IYO?

[Historian]

Six Days To Go!

Maybe it’s time for the predictions to begin (lol)?