Hubert Lawrence | Unseen acts of courage

For the second year in a row, inclement weather has put the kibosh on Jamaica's medal hopes at an international track and field championship. Last year, at the IAAF World Championships in London, 13?C temperatures froze our largely home based sprint crew. Earlier this month, snow stopped our speed merchants in the tracks in Birmingham at the IAAF World Indoor Championships.

The results of both events bear analysis. Last year, Jamaica's only gold medal came from Omar McLeod, the 110m hurdler supreme, who lives and trains in the United States, which obliges him to train and often to compete in cold places. Kimberly Williams and Danniel Thomas-Dodd live and train overseas in chilly locations in America and the United Kingdom respectively. In Birmingham, they made history with silver medals.

However, the World Indoor medal table does not tell the whole story. The chill struck down athletes and team officials alike, with the cold knocking out flu stricken Steven Gayle and the men's 4x400m relay team. The inclement weather shut down transport in the British city and left our athletes trudging through the snow to perform in black-green-and-gold.

Thomas-Dodd braved the conditions en route to the first World Indoor Championship throws medal for Jamaica. So did reigning Commonwealth shot champion O'Dayne Richards, who matched his indoor best. Reports indicate that Javon Francis, a neophyte indoors, did the same, accompanied by his Akan Track Club training partner Peter Matthews.

Circumstances not easy

It could not have been easy. In such circumstances, McLeod's presence would have given the Jamaica contingent a lift. Ironically, the winning time in his prime event, the 60m hurdles, 7.46 seconds by Britain's Andrew Pozzi, was exactly equal to McLeod's season's best.

The medal table does not say anything about the team's determined efforts to perform. However, London and Birmingham require Jamaica to plan for such worst case weather scenarios. To protect our sports teams, and especially those members who are based in sunny Jamaica, the nation's best minds have to formulate a solution. Warm clothing and earlier arrivals might be the first two steps. Weather proofing the warm-up routines of our sprinters would be next.

In the meantime, let's all raise our glasses to the athletes and staff who braved the snow and chill and snow. Their acts of courage in Birmingham should be an inspiration to us all. Respect!

- Hubert Lawrence has made notes at trackside since 1980.