Even before the U.S. men’s and women’s 4x100-meter relay teams were disqualified for dropping their batons on the track of the Bird’s Nest, something seemed amiss.
“I wonder what happened to their bibs?” I asked my husband.
Both the men’s and women’s relay teams were wearing bibs with USA written in black magic marker. The other teams’ bibs, printed with their countries’ three-letter abbreviations, looked official. Whoever was in charge of the U.S. team’s bibs must have misplaced them or left them at the hotel — an overlooked detail, like perhaps practicing baton hand-offs. The handwritten bibs made the two American teams look as if they were last-minute qualifiers.
In the 4x100m relay finals, which we’ll see tonight on NBC, the Jamaican men’s team, including 100m and 200m world-record-holder Usain Bolt (who I hope is tired of his celebratory showboating), won and broke the 15-year-old world record of 37.40, set by the U.S. in 1993. The Jamaican team included Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, Bolt, and former 100m world-record-holder Asafa Powell, who crossed the finish line in 37.10.
But the Jamaican women might be accused of emulating the Americans. They won their relay heat on Thursday, but as they took the lead in the 4x100m relay final, the
Jamaican women dropped the baton too.
Still, as the U.S. has come up short in track, the Jamaicans, like their bright yellow and green uniforms, have stood out loud and clear. Except for the women’s relay, they have swept the sprints. While the Jamaicans have practically glowed on the track, the U.S. team, in dark blue uniforms that blend into the stadium crowds, make the competitors almost invisible to the TV audience, even in HD. We only see them when the cameras zoom in.
The Jamaican sprinters have called attention to their country more than even Bob Marley or the Jamaican bobsled team did. The Caribbean island is home to 2.8 million people and seven of its sprinters have won 10 medals, 6 of them gold. By comparison, China has 500 times the population of Jamaica but only nine times the number of medals.
As University of Michigan economics professor Mark J. Perry pointed out in
his blog, the U.S. may lead in overall medal count (102 as of Friday), but Jamaica has more medals per capita.
And looking at GDP (gross domestic product), Perry points out that Zimbabwe is the medal leader. The African nation’s GDP is around $1.7 billion and medal count: 4. Except all four were earned by one athlete, swimmer Kirsty Coventry, who attended Auburn University and now lists Austin, Texas as her home.
By comparison, the U.S.’s GDP is $13.84 trillion — more than enough to purchase magic markers.
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