At age 22, Veronica Campbell tonight did what her former compatriot Merlene Ottey tried and failed to do at six Olympic Games – win Jamaica’s first ever individual sprint gold medal. Campbell, a double World junior sprint champion from 2000, won the Olympic 200m title this evening in commanding style.
“I’ve been dreaming all my life to get an individual Olympic medal and today I did it,” she said. “I’m very proud.”
Her winning time, 22.06, was a personal best by seven hundredths. Twelve hundredths behind her was USA’s 18 year-old sensation Allyson Felix whose time is a new World Junior record, one hundredth inside the previous mark which has stood to Russia’s Natalya Bochina for 24 years.
Commonwealth Games champion Debbie Ferguson of the Bahamas made a late dash for third, and took the bronze in 22.30, just edging out Campbell’s compatriot Aleen Bailey.
Campbell was one of Ottey’s teammates in the Jamaican 4x100m relay squad that won a silver medal in Sydney four years ago. Then, just 18, she ran the second leg of a final remembered most for the fact that the USA, with Marion Jones on anchor, didn’t win. Indeed, it was Ferguson who crossed the line first, with Ottey holding off Jones desperate efforts for the silver.
Campbell’s double triumph in Chile the following month suggested she would be one to watch in future years. At 23.20 this evening she turned that potential into gold.
Campbell had a pre-race plan and executed it too perfection. Running in lane four, one outside of Felix, she knew she would have to get out fast. Bailey, who spent her last moments before being called to the blocks shadow boxing like a female Mohammed Ali, was two lanes outside her, with Ferguson running blind in lane eight.
Campbell blasted out of the blocks and ran a storming bend. But Felix was chasing her hard. Bailey also got away quickly, making ground on Ferguson. As they swung into the straight Campbell had two metres on Felix but the American began to make ground. With 50m to go Bailey began to falter as Ferguson finished strongly on the outside.
Felix was hunting Campbell down but the Jamaican had enough strength to come home ahead. She threw her arms wide as she broke the line before turning to embrace Bailey. The two gathered a Jamaica flag for a joint lap of honour.
“I studied the others’ races, especially to beat Allyson,” said Campbell afterwards. “That’s why I took off at the start and ran a hard curve. I knew the perfect race would win for sure.”
Felix will have seen the initials WJR light up on the stadium’s giant scoreboard with a mixture of delight and amusement. Aged 17, she had burst onto the international senior scene back in May 2003 by running 22.11 in Mexico City, but the time couldn’t be ratified as a reocrd because no drugs test was carried out.
“Running such a fast race was very exciting,” said Felix, who was gracious in defeat. “She [Campbell] got out well and ran a great curve and I couldn’t make it up. I can’t wait for the future. Running fast is a long process, I’ll just have ot be patient. I’m gradually accepting the fact that I’m the future of USA women’s sprinting.”
Ferguson, the bronze medallist commented- "I felt really inspired by Tonique Williams victory yesterday. I had to fight really hard because I was the oldest of the young ladies out there. Per capita the Bahamas have already won the Olympic Games."
MB
