page_title: Athletics in Jamaica
section_title: 1990s
hierarchical_section_title: Athletics in Jamaica / History / 1990s
caption_attribution_description: Merlene Ottey in Cologne 1997
context_page_description: This article is about the athletics in Jamaica from the early 20th century to 2019
  In 90 years, Jamaica has won 42 Commonwealth Golds, 14 World Championship Golds and 17 Olympic gold medals in athletics alone. Jamaica has a population of 2.85 million people, making it the 138th most populous country in the world.
context_section_description: The early nineties was a successful time for Jamaican athletics with Merlene Ottey on top form. The decade started with the Commonwealth Games in Auckland. Ottey won the sprint double just like Quarrie had done 26 years before her. Both men's relay teams won bronzes. The 4x100 m team featured Clive Wright, John Mair, Raymond Stewart and Wayne Watson. The 4x400 m team featured Wright, Devon Morris, Howard Burnett and Mair. Next up was the 1991 World Championships in Japan the only gold was the women's 4x100 m team of Dahlia Duhaney, Juliet Cuthbert, Beverly McDonald and Ottey. Winthrop Graham managed silver in the 400 m hurdles and Ottey once again won two bronzes in the 100 m and 200 m, and the men's 4x400 m team of Patrick O'Connor, Devon Morris, Winthrop Graham and Seymour Fagan also won bronze giving Jamaica a record World championship medal tally of 1 gold 1 silver and 3 bronzes.
  The next Olympics were in 1992 in Barcelona and Jamaica had many athletes capable of winning the Olympic Gold medal but none rose to the occasion. Cuthbert came close but could only manage two silvers (in the 100 m and 200 m). Winthrop Graham won silver in the 400 m hurdles behind record breaking Kevin Young. Ottey won two more Olympic Bronzes (that was in the 100 m and 200 m behind younger teammate Cuthbert) and many were starting to say she should retire.
  A year later at the 1993 World Championships, Ottey proved the critics wrong by becoming World 200 m Champion at the age of 33. She then won silver in the 100 m. She would return to earn a bronze medal on the women's 4x100 m team (Michelle Freeman, Juliet Campbell, Nikole Mitchell, and Ottey). Also Winthrop Graham in the 400 m hurdles and Sandie Richards in the women's 400 m, won bronze medals.
  At the 1994 Commonwealth Games two young athletes were the only gold medallists 25-year-old Michelle Freeman won gold in the sprint hurdles and 22-year-old Inez Turner won gold in the 800 m. Ottey retained her 200 m crown at the 1995 world championships in Gothenburg. Once again she won 100 m silver. At this championships Jamaica achieved another record haul of 1 gold 4 silvers and 2 bronzes. This included silvers for James Beckford in the Long Jump, the men's 4x400 m team (Michael McDonald, Davian Clarke, Danny McFarlane, and Greg Haughton), and the women's 4x100 m team (Duhaney, Cuthbert, Beverly McDonald, and Ottey), as well as, bronzes for Greg Haughton in the men's 400 m and Deon Hemmings in the women's 400 m hurdles.
  Many believed the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta would be Ottey's last as she was then 36. Ottey won silver in the closest women's Olympic 100 m in history as she and Gail Devers were given the same time of 10.94 but the judges gave it to Devers on the photo finish. Like Herb Mckenley 44 years before her this was the closest Ottey ever was to an individual Olympic Gold medal. She also won a silver in the 200 and showed no signs of stopping. At this Olympics Ottey's achievements were overshadowed by Jamaica's first Olympic champion since Donald Quarrie and first female Olympic champion. Her name was Deon Hemmings and she won the 400 m hurdles in a new Olympic record of 52.82. Beckford also managed a long jump silver medal. The women's 4x100 m team (Michelle Freeman, Cuthbert, Nikole Mitchell, Ottey, Gillian Russell, and Andrea Lloyd) and the men's 4x400 m team (Michael McDonald, Greg Haughton, Roxbert Martin, Davian Clarke, Dennis Blake, and Garth Robinson) both won bronze medals as well, so that Jamaica ended with 1 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze.
  The next year at the 1997 world championships, Jamaica won no golds but managed 3 silvers and 4 bronzes. Alexandra "Sandie" Richards won silver in the 400 m. Olympic champion Hemmings won silver in the 400 m hurdles and the women's 4x100 m team of Beverly McDonald, Merlene Frazer, Cuthbert and Beverly Grant won silver. The ageless wonder Ottey won bronze in the 200 m, Michelle Freeman also won bronze in the 100 m hurdles, while both 4x400 m men's (Michael McDonald, Greg Haughton, Danny McFarlane, and Davian Clarke) and women's (Inez Turner, Lorr
caption: Merlene Ottey, former 200 m World Champion.
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