Track & field sports, athletics.

"Riddle me this, riddle me that, guess me this riddle, and perhaps not: A we run things, things no run we. Who could that be?" One possible answer: Jamaican sprinters. Enquiring minds want to know: Why do Jamaicans run so fast? Usain Bolt may be the most recent and the most spectacular Jamaican practitioner of the art of speed, but he and Shelly-Ann Fraser stand on the shoulders of giants of both genders, heirs to a pedigree that goes back at least a hundred years to the teenaged Norman Manley and before. For years before the explosion of "Lightning" Bolt on the Beijing Olympics track, the consistent speediness of men and women from this small island had been the subject of serious and humorous speculation, pride and "su-su". What is the "gold" that is mined so consistently by Jamaican sprinters that permits the little country to claim a place among the top five countries, measured in terms of medals per capita of population, in almost every Olympics since the Second World War - and all on the basis of athletics, mostly the sprints (400 metres and under)? Can science explain it? Does the touchy area of genetics - even though, scientifically speaking, there's no such thing as "race" - explain it? For instance, all the current world record holders for the sprints - and most of the former for the past fifty years or so - have been born in the Americas, descendants of slaves of West African lineage. Is running fast "in the blood", so to speak? Or is it as simple as the varieties of yam (twenty-two at last count) to be found on the hills of Jamaica and in the stomachs of its people? Behind the simple tales of the tape are theories and questions that have attracted fourteen specialists from a range of disciplines, from biochemistry to physiology, from genetics to psychiatry, each with an insight, a piece of the puzzle. Jamaican Gold presents research and argument, history and biography - and much more - for the specialist and the sports fan, for the academic and the coach, in one attractive, easy-to-read volume, packed with photographs and illustrations, including a special section of memorable photos of the heroes of yesteryear and today. With Jamaican Gold to hand, the London Olympics will be just as thrilling, and you'll be closer to answering the question: Why do those Jamaicans run so fast?

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Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 64. Chapters: Jamaican athletes, Olympic athletes of Jamaica, Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell, Michael Frater, Merlene Ottey, Ray Stewart, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Nesta Carter, Jamaica at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics, Donovan Powell, Neil Gardner, Sanjay Ayre, Athletics at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, Trevor Graham, Shelly-Ann Fraser, Bert Cameron, James Beckford, Kerron Stewart, Don Quarrie, Melaine Walker, Brigitte Foster-Hylton, Patrick Jarrett, Michael Blackwood, Christopher Williams, Lindel Frater, Danny McFarlane, Zara Northover, Dwight Thomas, Trecia-Kaye Smith, Colin Bradford, Sherone Simpson, Herb McKenley, Aleen Bailey, Ricardo Chambers, Greg Haughton, Pablo McNeil, Sheri-Ann Brooks, Beverly McDonald, Sandie Richards, Lacena Golding-Clarke, Delloreen Ennis-London, Arthur Wint, Davian Clarke, Juliet Cuthbert, Deon Hemmings, Winthrop Graham, Maurice Smith, George Kerr, Lorraine Fenton, Tayna Lawrence, Novlene Williams-Mills, Marvin Anderson, Suzette Lee, Jermaine Gonzales, George Rhoden, Shericka Williams, Michelle Freeman, Gillian Russell, Brandon Simpson, Isa Phillips, Michael McDonald, Kenia Sinclair, Dorian Scott, Lansford Spence, Keith Gardner, Bobby-Gaye Wilkins, Juliet Campbell, Mardrea Hyman, Nickiesha Wilson, Merlene Frazer, Sandra Farmer-Patrick, Allison Beckford, Michael Fray, Shereefa Lloyd, Dean Griffiths, Maurice Wignall, Patrick O'Connor, Markino Buckley, Dahlia Duhaney, Grace Jackson, Leslie Laing, Clive Terrelonge, Olivia McKoy, Michelle Burgher, Kemel Thompson, Michael Green, Roxbert Martin, Claston Bernard, Cathy Rattray-Williams, Greg Meghoo, Catherine Scott, Nikole Mitchell, Lennox Miller, Howard Burnett, Malcolm Spence, Ronetta Smith, Dinsdale Morgan, Michael Campbell, Inez Turner, Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association, Devon Morris, Debbie-Ann Parris-Thymes, Kimberly...

Beijing 2008: Usain Bolt slows down as he approaches the 100-meter finish line. He beats his chest, well ahead of his nearest rival, his face filled with euphoria, the world in thrall of his extraordinary talent. It is one of the greatest moments in sports history, and it is just the beginning.Of the ten fastest 100-meter times in history, eight belong to Jamaicans. How is it that this small island has come to dominate men’s and women’s sprinting? The Bolt Supremacy opens the doors to a community where sprinting permeates daily life; where the high school championships are watched by 35,000 screaming fans; where identity, success and status are forged on the track, and where "making it" means adoration and lucrative contracts. In such a society there can be the incentive for some to cheat. There are those who attribute Jamaican success to something beyond talent and hard work.Award-winning writer Richard Moore doesn’t shy away from difficult questions as he travels the length of this beguiling country speaking to antidoping agencies, scientists and skeptics as well as to coaches, superstars, and the young guns desperate to become the next big thing. Peeling back the layers, Moore finally reveals the secrets of Usain Bolt and the remarkable Jamaican sprint factory.

Celebrates Jamaica's high quality performances in global athletics. This book asserts that the environment consists of the rich legacy and history of athletics in Jamaica, the innate competitive, assertive and resilient spirit that is native to Jamaicans, the immense athletic talent that abounds in the country.