Sprinting’s dominant force: Why is Jamaica so good on the track?

When you think of modern Olympic sprinting, your mind will almost certainly spark images of Usain Bolt jogging across the finish line, or Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce making it look easy en route to another gold medal. But, why does Jamaica, an island of just 2.8 million people, per World Bank, dominate the sport of sprinting?

Michael Brooks, a writer for The Guardian and a consultant for the New Scientist, released an article nearly a decade ago that attempted to find some clarity behind the Jamaican dominance.

Brooks caveats his article by stating there is no scientific logic behind the Jamaican sprinting dominance, writing, “The fact that my grandfather, Usain Bolt and many other Jamaican-born athletes are so fast is, in scientific terms, an anomaly.”

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The anomalous nature of the facts opens the door for further discoveries, suggests Brooks, noting that scientists had studied successful Jamaican and US sprinters on the genetic level and discovered a specific “angiotensin-converting enzyme, or ACE, gene” specifically the “D allele” variant allows sprinters to run faster and harder due to a link between the gene and a larger, stronger heart.

This gene, and the specific variant, is, for whatever reason, far more prevalent in West Africa than in Europe and East Asia. The gene is seen in the Jamaican population at higher rates than even West Africa.

Brooks continues by noting that Jamaican athletes are also far more likely to have another gene, ACTN3, than their sprinting counterparts, with tests showing 75% of Jamaican athletes possess it, with the next closest, American, testing at only 70%. This gene, “helps muscles generate strong, repetitive contractions”.

Brooks is quick to note not every genetic change will lead to advantages, with even the rare genes that possibly benefit Jamaican sprinters causing higher than average instances of “diabetes, hypertension and other cardiovascular problems.”

Brooks never suggests the dominance can only be traced back to genetics, stating, “The truth is, we don’t have enough information to draw firm conclusions about the Jamaican dominance of sprinting.” Harvard University Press offers a different angle, suggesting there is one, clear reason behind Jamaica’s preeminence on the track…

Orlando Patterson, writing for HUP, claimed in 2023, “It is now universally agreed that the single most important factor explaining the nation’s athletic prowess is the institution of the annual Inter-Scholastic Athletic Championship, popularly called Champs.”

Champs is a five-day athletics meet for children aged 10-18 attended by up to 30,000 fans, claims Patterson. It is the biggest sporting event in Jamaica each year and speaks to the cultural dominance of sprinting in the country. Just as India is smitten by cricket, Japan by baseball, and the US by gridiron, popularity and cultural impact help produce talent.

When asked about why Jamaica continues to produce such good sprinters, Usain Bolt, the greatest of them all, answered, “It’s just that we have a good system. Boys and Girls Champs keep producing more and more athletes.”

Even Patterson, having seemingly found a conclusion, writes, “The island’s performance contradicts nearly all explanations of why nations succeed at the Olympics.” Suggesting perhaps there is no explanation, no Eureka moment of discovery, either genetic or cultural, that will crack the code behind Jamaica’s dominance. So perhaps we should simply sit back and watch the greatest athletes in the world instead.

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