Jamaica at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Jamaica competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, from August 5 to 21, 2016. This marked its sixteenth Summer Olympic appearance as an independent nation, although it had previously competed in four other editions as a British colony, and as part of the West Indies Federation.

Jamaica at the 2016 Summer Olympics
IOC code	JAM
NOC	Jamaica Olympic Association
Website	www.joa.org.jm
in Rio de Janeiro
Competitors	56 in 4 sports
Flag bearers	Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (opening)[1] Javon Francis (closing)
Medals Ranked 16th	Gold 6 Silver 3 Bronze 2 Total 11
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Other related appearances
British West Indies (1960 S)

Jamaica Olympic Association sent its largest ever delegation to the Games, with 56 athletes, 25 men and 31 women, competing only in track and field, swimming, diving, and artistic gymnastics, which marked the country's Olympic debut in Rio de Janeiro.^[2][3]

Heading the list of athletes on the Jamaican roster were sprint superstars Usain Bolt, who was looking to successfully defend his 100 m, 200 m, and 4 × 100 m relay titles (referred to as "treble treble"), and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who was hunting for her third consecutive title in the women's 100 metres, and eventually acted as the nation's flag bearer in the opening ceremony.^[1][4] Apart from Bolt and Fraser-Pryce, several Jamaican athletes had past Olympic experience, including former champion Veronica Campbell-Brown in the women's 200 metres, Bolt's sprint teammates Asafa Powell and Yohan Blake, and four-time Olympians Novlene Williams-Mills (women's 400 metres) and swimmer Alia Atkinson.

Jamaica left Rio de Janeiro with a total of 11 medals (6 gold, 3 silver, and 2 bronze), matching its overall tally from the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; all of these medals were awarded to the track and field athletes.^[5][6] In his fourth and final Olympics, Bolt successfully completed a set of three consecutive titles across the 100 m, 200 m, and 4 × 100 m relay races, making him one of the most decorated Olympians of all-time in the track and field. Moreover, he joined Carl Lewis and Paavo Nurmi as the only athletes to establish a record of nine gold medals in the sport.^[7][8] Fraser-Pryce witnessed her three-peat bid come to an end, as her compatriot Elaine Thompson beat out the defending champion to run away with a gold in the women's 100 m.^[9] Other medalists also included Omar McLeod, who became the first Jamaican to successfully earn the men's 110 m hurdles title, and Williams-Mills, who anchored the Jamaican squad for a runner-up finish in the women's 4 × 400 m relay, adding a silver to her career tally of three bronze medals that she previously collected in three consecutive Olympics.^[10][11]

Medalists

Medal	Name	Sport	Event	Date
Gold	Elaine Thompson	Athletics	Women's 100 m	August 13
Gold	Usain Bolt	Athletics	Men's 100 m	August 14
Gold	Omar McLeod	Athletics	Men's 110 m hurdles	August 16
Gold	Elaine Thompson	Athletics	Women's 200 m	August 17
Gold	Usain Bolt	Athletics	Men's 200 m	August 18
Gold	Asafa Powell Yohan Blake Nickel Ashmeade Usain Bolt Kemar Bailey-Cole* Jevaughn Minzie*	Athletics	Men's 4 × 100 m relay	August 19
Silver	Christania Williams Elaine Thompson Veronica Campbell-Brown Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce Simone Facey* Shashalee Forbes*	Athletics	Women's 4 × 100 m relay	August 19
Silver	Stephenie Ann McPherson Anneisha McLaughlin-Whilby Shericka Jackson Novlene Williams-Mills Christine Day* Chrisann Gordon*	Athletics	Women's 4 × 400 m relay	August 20
Silver	Nathon Allen Fitzroy Dunkley Javon Francis Peter Matthews Rusheen McDonald*	Athletics	4 × 400 m relay	August 20
Bronze	Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce	Athletics	Women's 100 m	August 13
Bronze	Shericka Jackson	Athletics	Women's 400 m	August 15

Athletics (track and field)

Main article: Athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce carrying the flag on behalf of athletes from Jamaica during the parade of nation within the opening ceremony

Jamaican athletes have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event):^[12][13]

The full Jamaican track and field team was announced on July 11, 2016, including sprinting superstars and defending Olympic champions Usain Bolt (men's 100, 200, and 4 × 100 m relay) and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (women's 100 m). When the team was named in many events, four athletes were named "including alternates."^[14] The ambiguity of the team composition is to accommodate Usain Bolt, perhaps the biggest celebrity in the sport of athletics. Bolt suffered a grade one hamstring tear during the Jamaican Olympic Trials and pulled out of the final 100 metres race. After filing for a medical exemption, Bolt was added to the Olympic team, pending his proof of fitness at a meet later in July.^[15] Bolt ran a sub-20 second 200 metres at that meet, the London Grand Prix, so it is presumed he established his fitness and will defend his titles. Also on the list of entrants were London 2012 bronze medalist Hansle Parchment (men's 110 m hurdles), Janieve Russell (women's 400mh) and Elaine Thompson (women's 200 m), even though they did not compete at the trials. Keeping the pattern, several other fourth-place finishers were added to the list.

Key

• Note–Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only
• Q = Qualified for the next round
• q = Qualified for the next round as a fastest loser or, in field events, by position without achieving the qualifying target
• NR = National record
• N/A = Round not applicable for the event
• Bye = Athlete not required to compete in round

Track & road events

Men

Usain Bolt successfully defend three gold medals

Jamaica wins the men's 4x100 relay

Athlete	Event	Heat		Quarterfinal		Semifinal		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Nickel Ashmeade	100 m	Bye		10.13	2 Q	10.05	5	Did not advance
Yohan Blake		Bye		10.11	1 Q	10.01	2 Q	9.93	4
Usain Bolt		Bye		10.07	1 Q	9.86	1 Q	9.81
Nickel Ashmeade	200 m	20.15	1 Q	—		20.31	13	Did not advance
Yohan Blake		20.13	2 Q	—		20.37	16	Did not advance
Usain Bolt		20.28	1 Q	—		19.78	1 Q	19.78
Fitzroy Dunkley	400 m	45.66	4	—		Did not advance
Javon Francis		45.88	3 Q	—		44.96	5	Did not advance
Rusheen McDonald		45.22	2 Q	—		46.12	6	Did not advance
Kemoy Campbell	5000 m	13:30.32	10	—				Did not advance
Deuce Carter	110 m hurdles	13.51	1 q	—		13.69	6	Did not advance
Omar McLeod		13.27	1 Q	—		13.15	1 Q	13.05
Andrew Riley		13.52	3 Q	—		13.46	4	Did not advance
Roxroy Cato	400 m hurdles	48.56	4 q	—		DSQ		Did not advance
Jaheel Hyde		49.24	4 q	—		49.17	5	Did not advance
Annsert Whyte		48.37	1 Q	—		48.32	1 Q	48.07	5
Nickel Ashmeade Yohan Blake Usain Bolt Jevaughn Minzie Asafa Powell Kemar Bailey-Cole	4 × 100 m relay	37.94	2 Q	—				37.27
Nathon Allen Fitzroy Dunkley Javon Francis Peter Matthews Rusheen McDonald	4 × 400 m relay	2:58.29	1 Q	—				2:58.16

Elaine Thompson became a double Olympic champion with gold medals in the 100 m and 200 m

Women

Athlete	Event	Heat		Quarterfinal		Semifinal		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce	100 m	Bye		10.96	1 Q	10.88	1 Q	10.86
Elaine Thompson		Bye		11.21	1 Q	10.88	1 Q	10.71
Christania Williams		Bye		11.27	2 Q	10.96	3 Q	11.80	8
Veronica Campbell-Brown	200 m	22.97	3	—		Did not advance
Simone Facey		22.78	2 Q	—		22.57 SB	3	Did not advance
Elaine Thompson		22.63	2 Q	—		22.13 SB	2 Q	21.78 SB
Christine Day	400 m	51.54	1 Q	—		51.53	4	Did not advance
Shericka Jackson		51.73	1 Q	—		49.83	1 Q	49.85
Stephenie Ann McPherson		51.36	1 Q	—		50.69	1 Q	50.97	6
Simoya Campbell	800 m	2:02.07	7	—		Did not advance
Natoya Goule		2:00.49	3	—		Did not advance
Kenia Sinclair		2:03.76	7	—		Did not advance
Megan Simmonds	100 m hurdles	12.81	2 Q	—		12.95	5	Did not advance
Shermaine Williams		12.95	4 q	—		12.86 SB	5	Did not advance
Nickiesha Wilson		12.89	3 Q	—		13.14	7	Did not advance
Leah Nugent	400 m hurdles	55.66	2 Q	—		54.98	4 q	54.45	6
Janieve Russell		56.13	2 Q	—		54.92	2 Q	54.56	7
Ristananna Tracey		54.88	1 Q	—		54.80	2 Q	54.15	5
Aisha Praught	3000 m steeplechase	9:35.79	8 q	—				9:34.20	14
Veronica Campbell-Brown Simone Facey Sashalee Forbes Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce Elaine Thompson Christania Williams	4 × 100 m relay	41.79	1 Q	—				41.36
Christine Day Chrisann Gordon Shericka Jackson Anneisha McLaughlin-Whilby Stephenie Ann McPherson Novlene Williams-Mills	4 × 400 m relay	3:22.38	1 Q	—				3:20.34

Field events

Men

Athlete	Event	Qualification		Final
		Distance	Position	Distance	Position
Damar Forbes	Long jump	7.85	12 q	7.82	12
Aubrey Smith		NM	—	Did not advance
Clive Pullen	Triple jump	16.08	33	Did not advance
O'Dayne Richards	Shot put	20.40	12 q	20.64	8
Fedrick Dacres	Discus throw	50.69	34	Did not advance

Women

Athlete	Event	Qualification		Final
		Distance	Position	Distance	Position
Shanieka Thomas	Triple jump	14.02	14	Did not advance
Kimberly Williams		14.22	6 q	14.53	7
Danniel Thomas	Shot put	16.99	25	Did not advance
Tara-Sue Barnett	Discus throw	58.09	16	Did not advance
Kellion Knibb		NM	—	Did not advance
Shadae Lawrence		57.09	22	Did not advance
Daina Levy	Hammer throw	60.35	30	Did not advance

Diving

Main article: Diving at the 2016 Summer Olympics

For the first time since the 1972 Summer Olympics, Jamaica has entered one diver into the Olympic competition by virtue of a top 18 finish at the 2016 FINA World Cup.^[16][17]

Athlete	Event	Preliminaries		Semifinals		Final
		Points	Rank	Points	Rank	Points	Rank
Yona Knight-Wisdom	Men's 3 m springboard	416.55	11 Q	381.40	14	Did not advance

Gymnastics

Main article: Gymnastics at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Artistic

Jamaica has entered one artistic gymnast for the first time into the Olympic competition. Toni-Ann Williams had claimed her Olympic spot in the women's apparatus and all-around events at the Olympic Test Event in Rio de Janeiro.^[18]

Women

Athlete	Event	Qualification						Final
		Apparatus				Total	Rank	Apparatus				Total	Rank
		V	UB	BB	F			V	UB	BB	F
Toni-Ann Williams	All-around	14.100	11.533	12.133	13.200	50.966	54	Did not advance

Swimming

Main article: Swimming at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Jamaican swimmers have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following events (up to a maximum of 2 swimmers in each event at the Olympic Qualifying Time (OQT), and potentially 1 at the Olympic Selection Time (OST)):^[19][20]

Athlete	Event	Heat		Semifinal		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Timothy Wynter	Men's 100 m backstroke	57.20	34	Did not advance
Alia Atkinson	Women's 100 m breaststroke	1:06.72	7 Q	1:06.52	6 Q	1:08.10	8

See also

• Jamaica at the 2015 Pan American Games
• Jamaica at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics