Sport in Jamaica

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The most popular sports in Jamaica are mostly imported from

athletics, cricket and association football; other popular sports include basketball, Tennis and netball
(usually for women).

Out of all the top five sports, Mixed martial arts, rugby league and rugby union are also considered growing sports in Jamaica.

Athletics

Main article: Athletics in Jamaica
Usain Bolt is one of the most prominent runners in the world.

In Jamaica involvement in athletics begins at a very young age and most high schools maintain rigorous athletics programs with their top athletes competing in national competitions (most notably the VMBS Girls and Boys Athletics Championships) and international meets (most notably the Penn Relays). In Jamaica it is not uncommon for young athletes to attain press coverage and national fame long before they arrive on the international athletics stage.

Jamaica is one of the leading countries in

2012 London Olympics in a time of 36.84, is the only country to run sub-37 seconds. In addition, the country has a very strong high school athletics program throughout the schools which sees top high schools compete each year in the Inter-Secondary Schools Boys' and Girls' Championships. The 2010 winners of the event were Wolmer's Boys' School and Holmwood Technical High School (girls).[1]
The ability of Jamaicans to dominate the sprint is only further enhanced and highlighted by the supremacy of Usain Bolt, who earned his Olympic 'Triple-Double' (retaining his 100m and 200m titles from the 2008 Beijing Olympics at the 2012 London Olympics and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics).

Cricket

See also: History of cricket in the West Indies

Greenfield Stadium is also used for cricket.[3][4]

Netball

Main article: Netball in the Americas

Netball World Championships every year since their inception in 1963, finishing third in 1991, 2003 and 2007, and in the Commonwealth Games
, earning the bronze medal in 2002, 2014 and 2018, followed by a silver in 2022.

Tennis

Main articles: Jamaica Davis Cup team and Jamaica Billie Jean King Cup team

Tennis is a popular sports among Jamaicans with traditional Jamaican high schools being actively involved in competitive tennis and outside of the National Junior's Circuit and the ITF Junior's Circuit is played by many at the professional and amateur level with numerous National and International Tournaments being held.

The Jamaica men's national tennis team represents Jamaica in Davis Cup tennis and have participated in the Davis Cup since 1988 (Jamaican Players previously competed under the West Indies Team).

Association football

Main article:
Association football in Jamaica

CONCACAF Champions League
.

Basketball

See also:
Jamaica national basketball team

The island's fastest growing sport

Basketball Hall of Fame player Patrick Ewing
.

Lacrosse

For the first time, Jamaica will feature a national team at the 2022 Under-19 World Lacrosse Championships.[6]

Boxing

Jamaica has also produced several world class amateur and professional boxers including Trevor Berbick and Mike McCallum. First-generation Jamaican athletes have continued to make a significant impact on the sport internationally, especially in the United Kingdom where the list of top British boxers born in Jamaica or of Jamaican parents includes Lloyd Honeyghan, Chris Eubank, Audley Harrison, David Haye, Lennox Lewis and Frank Bruno, Donovan "Razor" Ruddock, Mike Tyson, and Floyd Mayweather Jr., whose maternal grandfather is Jamaican.[7]

Mixed martial arts

This sport has become very popular in Jamaica, due to the participation of fighters as Uriah Hall, Aljamain Sterling, Randy Brown & Leon Edwards in the UFC.

Rugby league

Main article: Rugby league in Jamaica

Rugby league has been played in Jamaica since 2006.[8] The

USA (16-10) & Canada (38-8). Jamaica will play in the 2021 Rugby League World Cup in England.[9][10]

Rugby union

Main article: Rugby union in Jamaica

IRB rankings
.

Stadiums in Jamaica

Stadium Country Capacity
Independence Park Jamaica 35,000
Sabina Park Jamaica 15,600

See also

References

  1. ^ "Redirecting". Archived from the original on 25 November 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  2. ^ StephanieK. "Cricket in Jamaica". Jamaicans.com. Archived from the original on 1 January 2016. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  3. ^ "Cricket Ground Information". Windies Online. Archived from the original on 11 May 2011. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
  4. ^ "Greenfield Stadium". Surf India. Archived from the original on 3 August 2009. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
  5. ^ Sterling-Angus, Enid, "Culture - The History of Jamaica Basketball", jamaicans.com. Retrieved 14 Dec 2015.
  6. ^ Record 23 lacrosse teams to play at Men's Under-21 World Championship Ali Iveson (Inside the Games), 30 May 2021. Accessed 9 June 2021.
  7. YouTube
  8. ^ http://rugbyleaguejamaica.com/history/ Jamaica Rugby league History
  9. ^ "Rugby League World Cup: Jamaica reach tournament for first time". BBC Sport. 17 November 2018.
  10. ^ "Canada Wolverines eliminated from 2021 Rugby League World Cup contention". cbc.ca. 14 November 2018.
  11. ^ a b "International Rugby Board - JAMAICA". Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 28 September 2011. Retrieved 5 July 2009
  12. ^ "Jamaica Rugby". Archived from the original on 8 January 2007. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
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