As Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake and Warren Weir posed for photos with the Jamaican flag draped around their backs after a sweep of the 200-meter final at the 2012 Olympics, Jamaica’s dominance in men’s sprinting seemed like it would be interminable.
But after 2012, Jamaica’s superiority in men’s short sprinting outside of Bolt diminished. And since Bolt retired from track and field after the 2017 world championships, Jamaica’s 100-meter and 200-meter sprinters have become an afterthought at the sport’s top levels.
The Jamaican women, meanwhile, have moved into the forefront, running away from the rest of the world.