The men's 100 meters world record holder Asafa Powell is the gold medal hopeful for jamaicans at 2008 Beijing Games.[Reuters]

The greatest of Jamaica's Olympians was also the winner of the first gold medal, Arthur Wint.

Competing at the London 1948 Games, Wint beat world-record holding countryman Herb McKenley for a historic 1-2 finish, and he didn't finish there, claiming silver in the 800m. Only a pulled muscle in the 4/400 meter relay separated him from a 3rd gold, as well as a crack at the Mile.

A tall man at 1.95 meter he was known as the Gentle Giant, and his presence is still felt today: His statue stands at the National Olympic Stadium in capital Kingston.

Jamaica's hero of Helsinki 1952 was McKenley, who became the first man in Olympic history to reach the finals of 100m, 200m and 400m.

He was beaten into second in 400m by another Jamaican, George Rhoden, and in 200m he placed 4th. But it was the 100 meters that had the crowd on their feet, as McKenley and American Lindy Remigino sprinted clear of the field before crossing the line neck and neck.

It seemed as though McKenley had done enough, but a photo finish showed Remigino had just edged it.

McKenley was to get the gold medal he craved, beating rivals America in one of the greatest 4/400m relay races of all time. As Arthur Wint handed over to McKenley after the second leg the Americans had already built up a huge 15-meter lead, but McKenley was a man on a mission, running a staggering third leg that not only made up the deficit but also gave Rhoden a small lead, an advantage the newly crowned 400m gold medalist was never going to surrender.

At Montreal 1976, Donald Quarrie was the next athlete to sprint his way into Jamaican legend. In a clash that had the whole Caribbean region on their feet, Quarrie faced Hasely Crawford of Trinidad and Tobago in the 100m final.

Quarrie made the better start, but Crawford finished faster, enabling him to snatch gold. This wouldn't deter Quarrie, and hungry for success after missing the two previous Olympics with injuries, he used his brilliant ability around the bend to take gold in the 200m.

Merlene Ottey.

He placed a disappointing fifth in Athens 2004, but with just 18 months until the start of the Beijing Games, he is the man to beat.

Forever Fast

Jamaica's undisputed queen of the track emerged at the Moscow Games in 1980. Merlene Ottey entered the Games as an unknown, but her 200m bronze medal set her on the road to more than two decades of success, during which she won 8 Olympic medals. She would repeat her 200m bronze in Los Angeles 1982 and Barcelona 1982, and she also won bronze in 100m in Los Angeles, results that earned her the nickname of "the Bronze Queen." Atlanta 1996 put an end to this when she earned silver in both races, including a photo-finish defeat in the 100m.

Until 1997, she had been named Jamaican Sportswoman of the year 15 times, but then things began to unravel. She was cleared of cheating after a disputed positive test for banned steroid nandralone, but her reputation was less easily restored. When she won a place on the 4/100m relay team for the Sydney Games she was accused of being a bully. The team earned bronze, but afterwards Ottey vowed she would not race for Jamaica again. In 2002, she lived up to her promise, moving to Slovenia and taking up citizenship. Now, at the age of 44, she is still racing: She placed 7th in 100 meters at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix in September.