Mr Usain Bolt and his Jamaican track and field teammates at the 2015 IAAF World Championships in Beijing, China, as well as Jamaica’s senior football team, the Reggae Boyz, were undoubtedly the nation’s main sporting success stories in 2015.

They will have every chance to repeat in 2016.

Of course, for the Reggae Boyz, it was not all glory in the year just ended. They had their fair share of shocks and disappointments.

They surely felt like kings of the walk when they reached the final of the CONCACAF Gold Cup in the USA in July. On the way to that final the Reggae Boyz created an earth tremor of sorts, beating pre-tournament favourites United States 2-1 in Atlanta. It was the first football victory by Jamaica over the USA in that country in any FIFA-recognised match.

Yet, within a few months Coach Winfried Shaefer and his team would be brought rudely back to earth, beaten 2-1 by unfashionable Nicaragua at the National Stadium in Kingston. That was the first leg of a home- and-away tie to gain entry to the semi-final stage of CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers.

They would overcome the first-leg setback the hard way. They had to wait until the 88th minute of the second leg in Nicaragua before getting a priceless second goal to edge the Nicaraguans 3-2 on aggregate over the two legs.

More drama would follow in November. Apparently hamstrung by contractual disagreements between players and the Jamaica Football Federation, the national team went down to an embarrassing defeat to Panama at the National Stadium. Losing was one thing, but the experts agreed the Reggae Boyz were comprehensively outplayed in every department.

But, yet again, the Reggae Boyz would prove their resilience, travelling to Haiti days later to beat their talented hosts 1-0.

For the national team the challenge in 2016 will be to grow to such an extent that they will be among the top two from the group, including Panama, Costa Rica and Haiti, making it to the final qualifying Round of Six for the 2017 World Cup in Russia; and then to compete successfully in that final group.

After Beijing 2015, Jamaicans will be confident of more glory at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Readers will recall the outstanding achievements of the seasoned veterans such as Mr Bolt, Mrs Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Mrs Veronica Campbell-Brown and the indomitable Mrs Novlene Williams-Mills in Beijing last year.

But the efforts of younger athletes, including the graceful, silky smooth Miss Danielle Williams who took Gold in the sprint hurdles; the highly talented sprinter Miss Elaine Thompson; and the powerful hurdler Mr Hansle Parchment showed the future is bright.

As usual, a huge sub plot will be the incomparable Mr Bolt. He has said that this will be his last Olympics, and since he will turn 30 next August and is, by any measure, the greatest sprinter ever to have lived, it would be unreasonable to argue with him. Like it or not, Jamaica and the world must soon start contemplating the prospect of athletics without Mr Bolt.