One of these is the country's rich tradition in sports dating back to the 1948 Olympic Games in London and in 1952 at Helsinki, Finland, and also the competitive nature of Jamaicans in general. Also, the annual school championships, the motivation for scholarships to secondary and or tertiary institutions, have been cited as motivation for our young athletes.

Jamaicans were used unsparingly in college competition by coaches unconcerned about how that would affect them in international competition. When a young Asafa Powell turned them down, the tide turned. Raynor said: 'When Asafa stayed home, coaches could point to him and his success to interest young athletes in staying home. Once Asafa stayed, others did.'

The 'Bolt factor' is a term that is fast gaining currency in track and field circles, especially in Beijing. Sprint sensation Shelly-Ann Fraser alluded to what she termed "the Bolt effect" in giving her reaction to the men's 100 metres gold medallist's world record-breaking performance in the men's final and how it influenced her own victory in a personal best time of 10.78 on a night when Jamaican women swept three sprint medals.