Olympian Vilma Charlton is pleased that Jamaican youth are being exposed to the achievements of athletes like George Rhoden, the Olympic 400 metres gold medalist who died on August 24 at age 97 in California.

Rhoden won that event at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. He also ran the anchor leg for the victorious 4×400 metres team at those Games.

“One thing I’m happy about is that the newscasters are putting the ‘48 and ‘52 Olympics before the general public, so the youngsters have a feel of where we are coming from. They thought that the Olympics started in 2008 because that was such a successful year,” Charlton told Observer Online.

Usain Bolt’s superlative feats at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in China where he won three gold medals (the sprint double and as a member of the 4×100 metres relay team) was a global phenomenon. Shelly-Ann Fraser and Veronica Campbell-Brown won the 100 and 200 metres, respectively.

Those achievements took place 60 years after Rhoden and Arthur Wint competed at the London Olympics. Wint won the 400 metres while Rhoden competed in the 100 metres and 400 metres.

Wint, Herb McKenley and Les Laing were other members of the Helsinki 4×400 metres relay squad. They died in 1992, 2007 and 2021, respectively.

Charlton, a sprinter who competed at the 1964, 1968 and 1972 Olympics, said athletes like Rhoden had a profound impact on Jamaica’s social psyche.

“I can remember in 1952 when they won, Jamaica declared a national holiday. It’s the end of a chapter but he represents where we began and youngsters need to know that,” she noted.

Born in Kingston, George Rhoden attended Kingston Technical High School. Like Laing, who attended Dinthill Practical Training Centre (now Dinthill High School), he never competed at Boys Championships which were initially contested by elite schools.

He competed in track meets at Sabina Park and Racecourse (National Heroes Park) where he came to the attention of an American scout who recruited him for Morgan State University in Maryland. Rhoden was a star athlete there at National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) level.

A podiatrist, he operated a practice in California for many years.