The “Jamaican Olympics” that what my 280lb therapist friend with hands of steel said to me a few days ago. And yes, he is referring to the great successes that the Jamaican team is having in track and field. And you know what? We cannot deny them that brand for now.
The Olympic games are the games of surprises – oh yes .. who would think that the Jamaican women 4×100 team would not be champions this year after their performance in the 100 meter and 200 meter sprints? Who would think that Great Britain and the USA would not make the final of the men 4×100 relay race? Who would have guessed that the Jamaicans would break the 4×100 m relay record? Hey that was impressive. But the Olympics is about surprises and these games are no exception.
In track and field the relays are one of my favourite and believe me they are always full of surprises and that to me is in the true spirit of the Olympics. Surprise and more surprise. And the Olympics are about performance under pressure its show time in the big house and the powers above you are watching. Somehow some athletes feel that pressure more than others and some can deal with it more than others too. The relays I believe (especially the 4×100) is one event where pressure plays a huge factor in the outcome of the race. It’s not just about speed but it’s about rhythm, harmony and speed. Hence that pressure creates the environment for mistakes to happen and such mistakes lead to surprise outcomes and that’s the Olympics. As I eluded to earlier, the relay is not just about speed but about rhythm, harmony among teams mates and passing the baton through the zone with accuracy and speed. The speed has to be not too much or not too little it has to be “Balanced”. Is there something called balanced speed? Well who cares? I am a health practitioner and that’s my holistic spin on the speed issue in the relay zones. So that’s how we health practitioners talk. We asked our patience to live a balance life. We say to have good life you do everything in “Balance”. Hence, in running the relay zones the runners have to have their speed in the right “Balance”. I hope you all get this.
Our Canadian Team did well since we had not been to the relay finals in either the world championship (1999) or Olympics since 1996. I would say we were a bit off “Balance” in two of our Zones in the finals and that cost us a better finish. But remember, this is the Olympics and there are lots of surprises. Our team is partly young with only some experience d team members. But, with time, I believe our team will get better and will be in that competitive Zone with the “Balance Speed”.
Congratulations to the Canadian 4×100 team and coaching Staff.
At least that’s the way I see it.
