Jamaica’s athletes ready to conquer the World again
Published:Friday | September 12, 2025 | 12:12 AMGregory Bryce/Staff Reporter
TOKYO, Japan:
Jamaica’s athletes are now in the host nation, ready to once again take on the world across nine days of competition at the World Athletics Championships.
The year’s staging will be the 20th edition of the World Championships and the third time it is being hosted in Japan, having been previously held in Tokyo in 1991 and Osaka in 2007.
Jamaica holds a strong and gloried history at the World Championships as, despite being a small island with a population of under three million people, the nation is currently ranked fourth in the all-time medal table with an enviable record of 40 gold, 61 silver and 48 bronze medals.
The island made its debut at the inaugural staging in 1983, hosted in Helsinki.
Jamaica finished joint eighth on the medal table at the 1983 championships, tallying a gold, silver and bronze medal each.
Bert Cameron won Jamaica’s first gold medal, taking the men’s 400 metres title, with Merlene Ottey taking silver in the women’s 200m.
The quartet of Ottey, Juliet Cuthbert, Jacqueline Pusey and Leleith Hodges combined for the bronze medal in the women’s 4x100m relay.
The island would hit a double-digit medal haul for the first time in Osaka 2007, where they left with 10 medals.
Interestingly, the nation would only pick up one gold medal, with Veronica Campbell-Brown taking the women’s 100m title, along with six silver and three bronze medals.
Two years later in Berlin, Jamaica had a record medal haul of 13 and their highest-ever placement on the medal table, second only to the United States.
Usain Bolt’s impressive performances in the 100m and 200m headlined the championships and landed him the sprint double as he set the world records in both events, 9.58 seconds and 19.19, respectively.
He would get his third of Jamaica’s seven gold medals in the men’s 4x100m, setting a then world record time of 37.31 alongside Asafa Powell, Michael Frater and Steve Mullings.
Following 2009, Jamaica achieved double digits in their medal tally at every World Championships, with the exception of 2011 and 2017.
The island registered 12 medals each in 2015, 2024 and 2019 and recorded 10 medals in 2013 and 2022.
In 2011, the island had fallen just short of the double-digit haul when it finished with nine medals, while 2017 was an uncharacteristic poor showing, claiming just four medals.
An island now accustomed to punching above its weight, Jamaica will be looking to build on their storied history, and has named its contingent to do so.
The squad includes several of the world’s top talents and a string of rising stars who could kick-start illustrious careers on the global stage
Action will begin on Saturday, September 13 (Friday, Jamaica time) at the Japan National Stadium, and will run for nine days, closing on September 21.