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Home , Emmanuel Callender, Figueroa, Hansle Parchment, Jarrin Solomon, Keshorn Walcott, Lalonde Gordon

Overview of the Caribbean region’s medal performance at the 2012 in , England

1 1 Peter B. Jordens

Curaçao, August 14, 2012

We embrace [all Caribbean athletes who participated in the Olympics] as our very own, in the same spirit that the region has embraced Kirani James. Our athletes have proven that hard work and dedication yields remarkable results.

— Tillman Thomas, Prime Minister of Grenada, in a message congratulating the Government and people of for the performance of that country’s athletes at the 2012 Olympic Games. (Source: http://www.spicegrenada.com/index.php/government-news/aug-2012/1482-prime- minister-congratulates-jamaica, August 10, 2012)

Introduction

The 27th Olympic Games were held in London, England, from July 27 to August 12, 2012. In the pan-Caribbean spirit of the above-cited statement by Grenada’s Prime Minister, the present overview summarizes the perform- ance of the Caribbean nations that won medals at London 2012.

The sources used for this overview are http://en.wikipedia.org and http://www.london2012.com.

All the statistics in this overview concern the Summer Olympic Games.2

This overview uses the following abbreviations and acronyms:

B : Number of bronze medals BOT : British Overseas Territory G : Number of gold medals IOC : International Olympic Committee NOC : National Olympic Committee pop : Population size of a nation (expressed in millions of inhabitants) S : Number of silver medals T : Total number of medals, where each medal type counts as one (G=1, S=1, B=1) WT : Weighted total number of medals, where the medal types are counted as G=1, S=0.5, B=0.25 (x-y-z) : (x gold medals, y silver medals, z bronze medals)

1 The author welcomes comments, corrections and suggestions at [email protected]. 2 Caribbean nations mostly do not participate in the Winter Olympic Games. Exceptions have been: Jamaica (6 times), (6), Bermuda (6), Antilles (2), Cayman Islands (1) and (1). Caribbean nations have never won a medal at the Winter Olympic Games.

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Core results

The athletes of the Caribbean won 45 medals at London 2012. This constitutes 4.7% of the total number of medals conferred at the London Games (962). Table 1 shows how the 45 medals were divided among the nations of the region.

Table 1. Caribbean medal count by nation G S B T WT 5 3 6 14 8.00 Jamaica 4 4 4 12 7.00 Colombia 1 3 4 8 3.50 1 0 3 4 1.75 1 1 0 2 1.50 Bahamas 1 0 0 1 1.00 Grenada 1 0 0 1 1.00 1 0 0 1 1.00 Puerto Rico 0 1 1 2 0.75 CARIBBEAN TOTAL 15 12 18 45 25.50 WORLD TOTAL 302 304 356 962 543.00 Caribbean total as a 5.0 3.9 5.1 4.7 4.7 % of world total

The distribution of the region’s 45 medals by sport was as follows:

Table 2. Caribbean medal count by sport G S B T WT Track & field 8 7 9 24 13.75 Boxing 2 0 2 4 2.50 1 2 1 4 2.25 Wrestling 1 1 2 4 2.00 Cycling 1 1 1 3 1.75 Fencing 1 0 1 2 1.25 Shooting 1 0 0 1 1.00 Weightlifting 0 1 1 2 0.75 Taekwondo 0 0 1 1 0.25 TOTAL (all sports) 15 12 18 45 25.50

The region’s medal performance has traditionally been strongest in track & field. The 24 medals won in track & field at London 2012 constitute 16.8% of all track & field medals conferred at the London Games.

The Caribbean nation with the best achievement in track & field, delivering half (12) of the region’s 24 medals in that sport, was Jamaica.3 Jamaica’s performance earned that nation the third spot on the global ranking of nations for London 2012 as far as medals in track & field are concerned. Trinidad and Tobago and the Domi- nican Republic were also among the top 15 of this ranking. See Table 3.

3 All of Jamaica’s 12 medals at London 2012 were in track & field. Of the 67 medals that this country has won ever since it has participated in the Olympic Games, 66 medals have been in track & field. Jamaica obtained one medal in cycling in 1980.

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Table 3. Ranking of world’s nations by medal count for track & field (top 15) G S B T WT 1 USA 9 13 7 29 17.25 2 Russia 8 4 6 18 11.50 3 Jamaica 4 4 4 12 7.00 4 Kenya 2 4 5 11 5.25 5 Great Britain 4 1 1 6 4.75 6 Ethiopia 3 1 3 7 4.25 7 1 4 3 8 3.75 8 Australia 1 2 0 3 2.00 9 1 0 4 5 2.00 10 Trinidad and Tobago 1 0 3 4 1.75 11 Dominican Republic 1 1 0 2 1.50 France 1 1 0 2 1.50 1 1 0 2 1.50 Turkey 1 1 0 2 1.50 15 Czech Republic 1 0 1 2 1.25

Table 4 provides the names of the Caribbean athletes that won the 45 medals for the region.

Table 4. The 45 Caribbean medals by country, medal type, sports event and athlete’s name Cuba (14) Boxing 4 (2-0-2), judo 3 (1-2-0), wrestling 2 (1-0-1), shooting 1 (1-0-0), track & field 2 (0-1-1), weightlifting 1 (0-0-1), taekwondo 1 (0-0-1) G (5) 1. Roniel Iglesias Sotolongo (boxing: men’s light welter 64kg) 2. Mijain Lopez Nuñez (wrestling: men’s 120kg Greco-Roman) 3. Idalis Ortiz Boucurt (judo: women’s 78kg) 4. Leuris Pupo (shooting: men’s 25m rapid fire pistol) 5. Robeisy Eloy Ramirez Carrazana (boxing: men’s fly 52kg) S (3) 6. Yanet Bermoy Acosta (judo: women’s 52kg) 7. Asley Gonzalez Montero (judo: men’s 90kg) 8. Yarisley Silva (track & field: women’s pole vault) B (6) 9. Lazaro Alvarez Estrada (boxing: men’s bantam 56kg) 10. Ivan Cambar (weightlifting: men’s 77kg) 11. Robelis Despaigne (taekwondo: women’s 80kg) 12. Livan Lopez Azcuy (wrestling: men’s 66kg freestyle) 13. Leonel Suarez (track & field: men’s decathlon) 14. Yasnier Toledo Lopez (boxing: men’s light 60kg) Jamaica (12) Track & field 12 (4-4-4) G (4) 15. (men’s 100m) 16. Usain Bolt (men’s 200m) 17. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (women’s 100m) 18. , Usain Bolt, and (men’s 4x100m relay) S (4) 19. Yohan Blake (men’s 100m) 20. Yohan Blake (men’s 200m) 21. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (women’s 200m) 22. Veronica Campbell-Brown, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Sherone Simpson and Kerron Stewart (women’s 4x100m relay) B (4) 23. Veronica Campbell-Brown (women’s 100m) 24. Hansle Parchment (men’s 110m hurdles) 25. Warren Weir (men’s 200m) 26. , Rosemarie Whyte, and Novlene Williams- Mills (women’s 4x400m relay)

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Table 4 continued Colombia (8) Cycling 3 (1-1-1), weightlifting 1 (0-1-0), track & field 1 (0-1-0), judo 1 (0-0-1), taekwondo 1 (0-0-1), wrestling 1 (0-0-1) G (1) 27. Mariana Pajon (cycling: women’s bmx) S (3) 28. Oscar Figueroa (weightlifting: men’s 62kg) 29. Caterine Ibargüen (track & field: women’s triple jump) 30. Rigoberto Uran Uran (cycling: men’s road race) B (4) 31. Yuri Alvear (judo: women’s 70kg) 32. Oscar Muñoz Oviedo (taekwondo: men’s 58kg) 33. Carlos Mario Oquendo Zabala (cycling: men’s bmx) 34. Jackeline Renteria Castillo (wrestling: women’s 55kg freestyle) T & T (4) Track & field 4 (1-0-3) G (1) 35. (men’s javelin) B (3) 36. (men’s 400m) 37. Ade Alleyne-Forte, Lalonde Gordon, and (men’s 4x400m relay) 38. , , and Richard Thompson (men’s 4x100m relay) Dom Rep (2) Track & field 2 (1-1-0) G (1) 39. Felix Sanchez (men’s 400m hurdles) S (1) 40. Luguelin Santos (men’s 400m) Bahamas (1) Track & field 1 (1-0-0) G (1) 41. , , Ramon Miller and Demetrius Pinder (men’s 4x400m relay) Grenada (1) Track & field 1 (1-0-0) G (1) 42. Kirani James (men’s 400m) Venezuela (1) Fencing 1 (1-0-0) G (1) 43. Ruben Limardo (men’s épée) Puerto Rico (2) Wrestling 1 (0-1-0), track & field 1 (0-0-1) S (1) 44. Jaime Yusept Espinal (wrestling: men’s 84kg freestyle) B (1) 45. Javier Culson (track & field: men’s 400m hurdles)

Some of the remarkable feats and facts that accompanied the region’s medal performance are: • Jamaica set a world record in the men’s 4x100m relay race (track & field). • Olympic records were set by Colombia’s Oscar Figueroa in men’s weightlifting, 62kg (clean and jerk), and by Jamaica’s Usain Bolt in the men’s 100m dash. • National records were set, all in track & field events, by the following athletes: − Kirani James (Grenada): men’s 400m; − Keshorn Walcott (Trinidad and Tobago): men’s ; − Jamaica’s women’s relay team: 4x100m; − ’ men’s relay team: 4x400m; − Trinidad & Tobago’s men’s relay team: 4x400m. • Jamaica’s Usain Bolt became the first athlete ever to win the 100m and 200m races at consecutive Olympic Games. Together with his country’s relay team he also repeated his gold-medal performance of the previous Olympic Games in the 4x100m race. In so doing, he firmly established his status of “fastest man on earth” and “Olympic legend.” • Grenada obtained its first Olympic medal ever when Kirani James won gold in the men’s 400m race. • Venezuelan fencer Ruben Limardo obtained his country’s second gold medal ever, after a gold-medal drought of 44 years. • Cuba, known as a great (amateur) boxing nation, ended its notable 8-year gold-medal drought in boxing, thanks to Roniel Iglesias Sotolongo and Robeisy Eloy Ramirez Carrazana.

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• The region’s medal winners included no fewer than six teenagers, listed here from youngest to oldest: Robeisy Eloy Ramirez Carrazana (Cuba, 18), Luguelin Santos (Dominican Republic, 18), Oscar Muñoz Oviedo (Colombia, 19), Keshorn Walcott (Trinidad and Tobago, 19), Deon Lendore (Trinidad and Tobago, 19), and Kirani James (Grenada, 19). • At age 34, the Dominican Republic’s Felix Sanchez became the oldest Olympian to win the 400m hurdles race. He had won the same Olympic event previously, in 2004.

The regions’ performance relative to population size

When the nations competing at London 2012 are ranked in the customary way, i.e. according to absolute medal count, the highest ranked Caribbean nations are Cuba and Jamaica, positioned just within the global top 20. See Table 5.

Table 5. Ranking of nations by weighted total medal count (top 20) G S B T WT 1 USA 46 29 29 104 67.75 2 China 38 27 22 87 57.00 3 Russia 24 25 33 82 44.75 4 Great Britain 29 17 19 65 42.25 5 Germany 11 19 14 44 24.00 6 France 11 11 12 34 19.50 7 13 8 7 28 18.75 8 Japan 7 14 17 38 18.25 9 Australia 7 16 12 35 18.00 10 Italy 8 9 11 28 15.25 11 Hungary 8 4 5 17 11.25 12 Netherlands 6 6 8 20 11.00 13 Ukraine 6 5 9 20 10.75 14 3 10 4 17 9.00 15 Kazakhstan 7 1 5 13 8.75 16 Cuba 5 3 6 14 8.00 17 New Zealand 5 3 5 13 7.75 18 3 5 9 17 7.75 19 Iran 4 5 3 12 7.25 20 Jamaica 4 4 4 12 7.00

It has been argued many a time that this traditional way of ranking tends to favor the larger and wealthier countries; several alternative rankings have been suggested from time to time.4

4 See for example the “medal strike rate” ranking (gold medals relative to population size) at http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/population/estimates_and_projections/olympics.aspx and the “medal efficiency” ranking (total medals relative to Olympic squad size, population size, and wealth [gross domestic product per capita]) at http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/story/2012/08/09/f-efficient-olympics.html.

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When the nations of the world are ranked according to (weighted) medal count per population size, the following picture emerges (see Table 6): five Caribbean nations appear within the top 15 of this alternative ranking; moreover, Caribbean nations occupy the three top spots.

Table 6. Ranking of nations by weighted medal count per 1 million inhabitants (top 15) Pop G S B T WT WT/pop 1 Grenada 0.104 1 0 0 1 1.00 9.571 2 Bahamas 0.343 1 0 0 1 1.00 2.916 3 Jamaica 2.740 4 4 4 12 7.00 2.555 4 New Zealand 4.368 5 3 5 13 7.75 1.774 5 Trinidad & Tobago 1.341 1 0 3 4 1.75 1.305 6 Hungary 9.984 8 4 5 17 11.25 1.127 7 Slovenia 2.030 1 1 2 4 2.00 0.985 8 Croatia 4.403 3 1 2 6 4.00 0.908 9 Denmark 5.550 2 4 3 9 4.75 0.856 10 Australia 22.268 7 16 12 35 18.00 0.808 11 Georgia 4.352 1 3 3 7 3.25 0.747 12 Cuba 11.258 5 3 6 12 8.00 0.711 13 Belarus 9.595 3 5 5 13 6.75 0.703 14 Great Britain 62.036 29 17 19 65 42.25 0.681 15 Netherlands 16.613 6 6 8 20 11.00 0.662

The region’s performance at London 2012 viewed historically

How does the performance of the Caribbean at London 2012 compare to the region’s performance at recent Olympic Games?

Table 7 summarizes the medal performance of the Caribbean at the last six Olympic Games, held between 1992 and 2012. It indicates that the region’s medal performance in 2012 was slightly above its average achievement during the 1992-2012 period.

Table 7. Caribbean medals per Olympic Games, 1992-2012 G S B T WT Medals in 1992 (, Spain) 14 9 16 39 22.50 Medals in 1996 (Atlanta, USA) 10 12 13 35 19.25 Medals in 2000 (Sydney, Australia) 14 18 13 45 26.25 Medals in 2004 (Athens, Greece) 13 8 19 40 21.75 Medals in 2008 (, China) 9 19 16 44 22.50 Medals in 2012 (London, England) 15 12 18 45 25.50 TOTAL MEDALS 1992-2012 74 78 94 246 137.75 Average annual medal count 1992-2012 12 13 16 41 23.00

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Chart 1 illustrates the trend in the region’s medal performance during the 1992-2012 period. The blue vertical bars represent the total medal count for each Olympic year, while the brown horizontal line represents the average medal count for the 20-year period at hand. Chart 1 confirms that the region’s medal performance at London 2012 was slightly above average and shows that it continued the region’s relatively favorable perform- ance trend of the last three Olympic Games (2004, 2008 and 2012).

Chart 1. Trend in Caribbean (weighted) total medal count, 1992-2012 a. Total medal count b. Weighted total medal count 50 30

40 25 20 30 15 20 10 10 5 0 0 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012

A closer look at the individual nations of the region reveals a mixed achievement.

Table 8 expands upon Table 7 by showing the medal performance of the individual Caribbean nations that obtained medals at the last six Olympic Games.

Table 8. Caribbean medals by nation, per Olympic Games, 1992-2012 1992 1996 2000 Barcelona (Spain) Atlanta (USA) Sydney (Australia) G S B T G S B T G S B T Cuba 14 6 11 31 9 8 8 25 11 11 7 29 Jamaica 0 3 1 4 1 3 2 6 0 6 3 9 Bahamas 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 2 0 1 3 Dominican Republic Colombia 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 Trinidad & Tobago 0 0 2 2 0 1 1 2 Venezuela Grenada Puerto Rico 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 Suriname 0 0 1 1 CARIBBEAN TOTAL 14 9 16 39 10 12 13 35 14 18 13 45

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Table 8 continued 2004 2008 2012 Athens (Greece) Beijing (China) London (England) G S B T G S B T G S B T Cuba 9 7 11 27 2 11 11 24 5 3 6 14 Jamaica 2 1 2 5 6 3 2 11 4 4 4 12 Bahamas 1 0 1 2 0 1 1 2 1 0 0 1 Dominican Republic 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 2 1 1 0 2 Colombia 0 0 2 2 0 1 1 2 1 3 4 8 Trinidad & Tobago 0 0 1 1 0 2 0 2 1 0 3 4 Venezuela 0 0 2 2 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 Grenada 1 0 0 1 Puerto Rico 0 1 1 2 Barbados Suriname CARIBBEAN TOTAL 13 8 19 40 9 19 16 44 15 12 18 45

Colombia’s performance at London 2012, with 8 medals (1-3-4), was by far the country’s best Olympic performance ever. Before London 2012, Colombia had won a gold medal only once (in 2000) and its highest medal count had been 3 (in 1972).

Chart 2 shows the development in Colombia’s medal performance between 1972 and 2012 in terms of the weighted total medal count per year.

Chart 2. Trend of Colombia’s weighted total medal count, 1972-2012 4.00

3.00

2.00

1.00

0.00

Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica also had their best Olympic performance ever at London 2012, although their improvement relative to previous years was less spectacular than that of Colombia.

Meanwhile, Cuba’s Olympic performance at London 2012 was its worst since 1976. Although Cuba maintain- ed its position as the leading Caribbean nation in terms of medal count, Cuba significantly ‘underperformed’ at London 2012 in comparison to its own record in the recent past. Cuba’s achievement was rather disappoint- ing in all the sports in which the country has traditionally been strong, such as boxing, judo and wrestling.

Chart 3 shows that in fact there has been a persistent decline in Cuba’s Olympic medal performance since Barcelona 1992, when Cuba had its most successful Olympics ever. From the 31 medals that Cuba obtained in 1992, the country’s medal count has dropped by more than half, to 14 medals in 2012.

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Chart 3. Trend of Cuba’s weighted total medal count, 1972-20125

25.00 20.00

15.00

10.00 5.00

0.00

Chart 4 visualizes the contribution of the various Caribbean nations to the region’s weighted total medal count in 1992 and 2012 respectively. As mentioned, Cuba has remained the main supplier of Caribbean medals as well as the leading Caribbean nation in terms of gold medals. However Cuba’s share (the dark blue segments in both Chart 4a and Chart 4b) of the regional medal count has declined sharply, from 88% in 1992 to 31% in 2012.

Chart 4. National contributions to the region’s total medal count, 1992 and 2012 a. 1992 b. 2012 Cuba Cuba Jamaica Jamaica Bahamas Bahamas Colombia Colombia Puerto Rico Puerto Rico Suriname Grenada Venezuela Dom Rep T & T

Fortunately for the region as a whole, over time more Caribbean nations have begun winning Olympic medals and moreover, as mentioned above, the medal performance of several Caribbean nations such as Colombia, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago has been improving. Consequently, the overall regional achievement at the Olympic Games has remained steady in recent years and has even improved slightly.

5 Cuba did not participate in the Olympic Games of 1984 (Los Angeles, USA) and 1988 (Seoul, South Korea).

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Additional information

To complete this overview of the medal performance of the Caribbean at London 2012, some additional information is provided.

Table 9 is a summary of the medal performance of all Caribbean nations that have ever won at least one medal at the Olympic Games, since 1896 when the first Olympic Games were held, up to and including London 2012.

Table 9. All-time Caribbean Olympic medal count, by nation Year of first Number of Olympic medals Olympic Games Olympic Games G S B T WT Cuba 1900 19 72 67 69 208 122.75 Jamaica 1948 16 17 29 21 67 36.75 Colombia 1932 18 2 6 11 19 7.75 Trinidad and Tobago 1948 16 2 5 11 18 7.25 Bahamas 1952 15 5 2 4 11 7.00 Venezuela 1948 17 2 2 8 12 5.00 Dominican Republic 1964 13 3 2 1 6 4.25 Puerto Rico 1948 17 0 2 6 8 2.50 Suriname 1960 12 1 0 1 2 1.25 Grenada 1984 8 1 0 0 1 1.00 Haiti 1924 14 0 1 1 2 0.75 US Virgin Islands 1968 11 0 1 0 1 0.50 1952. Last: 2008 13 0 1 0 1 0.50 British West Indies 1960. Last: 1960 1 0 0 2 2 0.50 Barbados 1968 11 0 0 1 1 0.25 Guyana 1948 16 0 0 1 1 0.25 Bermuda 1936 17 0 0 1 1 0.25 CARIBBEAN TOTAL 105 118 138 361 198.50

Note: Bermuda is the least populated nation worldwide to ever win an Olympic medal. Bermuda’s population was 53,500 in 1976 when it won a bronze medal in boxing (so far its only Olympic medal).

Table 10 shows the distribution of the region’s 361 medals by sport.

Table 10. All-time Caribbean Olympic medal count, by sport G S B T WT Track & field 36 53 52 141 75.50 Boxing 36 22 27 85 53.75 Judo 6 13 17 36 16.75 Wrestling 7 5 9 21 11.75 Fencing 6 5 6 17 10.00 Weightlifting 3 4 6 13 6.50 Baseball 3 2 0 5 4.00 Taekwondo 1 3 5 9 3.75 3 0 2 5 3.50 Shooting 1 2 5 8 3.25 Sailing 1 3 1 5 2.75 Cycling 1 2 3 6 2.75 Swimming 1 1 4 6 2.50 Canoeing 0 3 0 3 1.50 Basketball 0 0 1 1 0.25 TOTAL (all sports) 105 118 138 361 198.50

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Table 11 is a list of the Caribbean nations that have participated in Olympics Games but have never won a medal.

Table 11. Caribbean nations that have never won an Olympic medal Number of Year of first Olympic Games Olympic Games Dominica 5 1996 St Kitts and Nevis 5 1996 St Lucia 5 1996 St Vincent and the Grenadines 7 1988 Aruba 7 1988 British Virgin Islands 8 1984 Antigua and Barbuda 9 1976 Cayman Islands 9 1976 Belize 11 1968

Finally, Table 12 lists those Caribbean nations that do not have their own National Olympic Committee (NOC), recognized by the International Olympic Committee. They cannot participate in the Olympic Games as a nation. The Table explains the options that are open to the athletes of these nations who nevertheless wish to compete in the Olympic Games.

Table 11. Caribbean nations without their own, recognized NOC Anguilla These three nations are British Overseas Territories. Their athletes can participate in the Olympics as part of Great Britain’s squad. For example, Anguilla’s Shara Proctor Montserrat competed for Great Britain in the long jump (track & field) at London 2012. It should be noted that three other BOTs in the Caribbean, i.e. Bermuda, the Cayman Turks and Islands and the British Virgin Islands, do have their own NOCs which were recognized Caicos Islands by the IOC in 1936, 1976 and 1982 respectively. These two islands, formerly part of the Netherlands Antilles, became autonomous countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 2010. Since July 2007 the IOC no Curaçao longer extends membership to non-independent territories and will therefore not recognize a NOC from Curaçao or St Maarten. For London 2012, a temporary solution was devised, enabling three Curaçaoan athletes to compete as ‘Independent Olympic Athletes’ under the IOC flag. In the future, however, athletes from Curaçao and St Maarten will have to join a country with a recognized NOC – e.g. the Netherlands or Aruba – if they wish to compete in the Olympics. A number of Curaçaoan athletes have St Maarten already done so. It should be noted that Aruba, which became an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1986, did get its NOC recognized by the IOC in 1986. Bonaire These three islands, formerly part of the Netherlands Antilles, became overseas munici- Saba palities and integral parts of the Netherlands in 2010. Their athletes can participate in St Eustatius the Olympics as part of the Netherlands’ squad. French Guyana Since 1946 these three territories are Overseas Departments and integral parts of France. Several athletes with French-Caribbean roots have competed in the Olympics as part of Guadeloupe France’s squad. For example, five-time Olympic medal winner Laura Flessel-Colovic, an épée fencer and France’s flag-bearer at the opening ceremony of London 2012, was Martinique born in Guadeloupe.

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