The Olympics. They are winding down. And one major theme: Jamaica's dominance in Track and Field. The tiny Caribbean nation boasts the fastest runners in the world. Gold medalists Usain Bolt holds the record for the men and Elaine Thompson holds the record for the women.
Keep in mind that Jamaica's population is smaller than the population of Kansas, yet it sent 60 athletes to Rio de Janiero—56 for track and field— and 33 of those ran in the short sprints.
Professor Orlando Patterson has been thinking about all this. He was born and raise in Jamaica. He is now a Sociology professor at Harvard, and he has written about this phenomenon for the New York Times.
Listen to the full audio to hear Patterson talk about Jamaica’s running success.
Professor Patterson is an author, and a sociology Professor at Harvard University. You can read his New York Times article about the phenomenon of Jamaican runners here. By the way…Usain Bolt is favored to win tonight, in his last Olympic race in Rio. That would make it 9 for 9 consecutive Olympic golds.
