Jamaica

Sports in Jamaica

 

Sport in Jamaica is a significant part of Jamaican culture. Jamaicans take mush pride in their achievement in the field of sports. The most popular sports are mostly imported from Britain, when it was still under rule of Great Britain. The most popular sport in Jamaica must be athletics. Other popular sports include: Bobsled, association football, cricket, basketball and netball (especially for women).

 

Track & Field:

Jamaica is one of the leading countries in sprinting with the current world record holder for 100m and 200m, Usain Bolt and the former 100m world record holder, Asafa Powell, both originating from the island. Yohan Blake, silver medalist at the 2012 London Olympics in the 100m and 200m hailed from Jamaica also.

 

The Jamaican Bobsled Team:

No one has ever doubted Jamaica’s ability to field world-class athletes, but the names of Devon Harris, Dudley Stokes, Michael White and Nelson Stokes have gone down in the annals of sports history as icons of determination and inspiration. The four men came to international prominence as the founders of the first Jamaican Bobsled Team, making their first ever debut in the 1988 Winter Olympics.

 

Association Football:

It was introduced to the country by the British and quickly took hold. The most reliable records available indicate that football was introduced in Jamaica towards the end of the 19th century and 1893 is listed as the year Jamaica formed its first football club. It immediately found itself in competition with cricket which had established earlier popular roots in the island.[1] This may have been partly due to the climate, which suited cricket better.Since then football has flourished in Jamaica.

Cricket in Jamaica:

British rule is long gone from Jamaica, but reminders of it linger on. Cricket is one such memento from the days of colonialism. Once the most popular sport in Jamaica, it lingers throughout the Caribbean as the people’s sport.

 

Basketball:

Basketball had a relatively early beginning in Jamaica. Although the source of its introduction is unknown, it is documented that in the 1940’s the Chinese were the first to formally organize the sport by creating recreational organizations that competed against each other. 
It is the island's fastest growing sport and has produced several world-class athletes, most notably Basketball Hall of Fame player Patrick Ewing.

 

Netball in Jamaica:

Netball is a popular sport among Jamaican women, and is the country's most popular women's sport. The Jamaica national netball team, known as the Sunshine Girls, have participated in the Netball World Championships every year since their inception in 1963.