Despite winning more than 20 gold medals at the Olympics since Athens in 2004, Jamaica’s most iconic moment in the history of the Games arguably remains the island’s gold medal run in the men’s 4x400m relays 69 years ago.

It was in 1952 in Helsinki, Finland and Jamaica, then under colonial rule, was still clawing its way from under the clutches of the British and establishing itself on the map.

Four years earlier in Jamaica’s debut at the Olympic Games in London, the island won three medals inclusive of gold and silver by Arthur Wint in the 400m and the 800m respectively and a silver from Herb McKenley in the 400m. The fancied Jamaicans were favoured to strike gold in the 4x400m relay but an injury to Wint disappointingly put paid to that aspiration.

In Helsinki, the quartet of Wint, McKenley, Les Laing and George Rhoden made amends, capturing gold in a then world record run of 3:03.9 hand timed. The United States of America was second in 3:04.0 with Germany third in 3:06.6.

The final was considered a two-team race between the defending champions, the mighty USA, and the emerging colony of Jamaica.

Ollie Watson gave the US a slender lead over Jamaica with Wint on the opening leg and that advantage was increased by Gene Cole who, with a 45.5 split, outran Jamaica’s Les Laing on the second leg.

But in one of the greatest piece of relay running in history, Jamaica’s McKenley, who got the baton some 10 metres behind the US 400m hurdles gold medalist Charlie Moore on the third leg, ran the fastest 400m leg clocking an amazing 44.6, the first time any man dipped below the 45 second barrier, and gave Jamaica a slim lead.

George Rhoden, the 400m champion wasn’t about to let the 800m champion Mal Whitfield catch him and he took Jamaica home to gold and a new world record.

Mike Fennell, who served as president of the Jamaica Olympic Association for 40 years between 1977 and 2017, reminisced with Observer Online about that historic moment that helped shape the fortunes of Jamaica.

“What it demonstrated was although we had many restrictions it didn’t stop us from succeeding, and the message was, despite the fact that we are a small country under colonial rule, we were able to rise above those things and establish our name on our own,” he pointed out.  

Fennell, who was a 17-year-old schoolboy at Calabar High in 1952, had a vested interest in the Olympics because two of the eight-member Jamaican team were from Calabar.

“The interest was more than just Jamaica for me because I was at Calabar and Arthur Wint and Herb McKenley were from Calabar. So the interest was very high in the school,” said Fennell.

“It was carried over from 1948 where they had this major disappointment where Arthur Wint pulled up injured. There were high expectations for that relay,” he reiterated.

“The team was really a team. My memory of that, the four of them were a solid team and they looked out for each other and so on,” Fennell pointed out.

He continued: “So in 1952 there were high expectations. One was the relay team and one was Herb McKenley who was still an international star and had never won an individual medal at the Olympic Games”.

“There was interest from that point of view, how would the relay do and the individual medals for Herb, because in the intervening years, George Rhoden had become his own star,” he added.

“So there was a lot of publicity at the time and one of the things at the time was that we didn’t have email, WhatsApp and all those social media platforms. We were totally dependent on radio and newspapers. Not even television,” Fennell explained.

“We had to tune in to the BBC. Everybody was glued to the radio trying to listen to what was happening and when the team finally won the gold medal and the world record, it was joy all around,” he added, noting that “It was almost hysteria with what we had done because remember again, we were still a colony and then to do this, it was like breaking all the big boys — little Jamaica, a colony.”

Jamaica, still competing under the British flag, had eight competitors including cyclist Kenneth Farnum who finished 20

^th

 and 21

^st

 in his two cycling events.

“Remember in those days you had to pay all your expenses. In today’s world the organising committee pays for your boarding and lodging. It pays for your transport subsidy and other facilities that are paid off. But in those days you had to pay for your village cost to cover your food, transportation and your own way in terms of air transport,” Fennell revealed.

Team Jamaica are hours away from contesting the final of the men’s 4×400 final at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The island has not tasted victory in the event since that 1952 triumph – 69 years of waiting and, based on the quality of this current team, that wait looks certain to continue.

In fact, after the heroics of McKenley and Co in 1952, Jamaica had to wait 36 years to be on the podium once again, copping silver in 1988 with the likes of Howard Davis, Devon Morris, Winthrop Graham and Bert Cameron.

Eight years later at the 1996 Olympics, Jamaica won bronze courtesy of Gregory Haughton, Michael McDonald, Roxbert Martin and Davis Clarke and silver again at the 2000 Games with Michael Blackwood, Gregory Haughton, Christopher Williams and Danny McFarlane.

Another silver medal would follow in the 2016 Rio Olympics as Pete Mathews, Nathon Allen, Fitzroy Dunkley and Javon Francis finished second behind the Americans.

Jamaica has won just five medals in the men’s 4×400 inclusive of a gold, three silver and a bronze at the Olympics.  

“We should be hungry for that shouldn’t we?” said Fennell.

“The 400m is a sprint but we have gone more to the shorter sprints. But we are all longing to see us be triumphant in the 400m because it was the 400m and the 4×400 that brought us world attention,” he pointed out.