Despite becoming the first 400m champion at the inaugural World Championships in Helsinki, Finland in 1983, Bertland Cameron is perhaps best remembered for a race he didn’t win.
The following year at the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, California, the Spanish Town, St Catherine native started as a favourite to claim the gold medal in the one-lap event but as fate would have it he suffered a left hamstring injury in the semi-final as he almost came to a stop running from lane two.
However, after suffering the discomfort where he grabbed his left leg with one hand as the other flailed away in the air after about 120m, Cameron pulled himself together like a champion as he picked off rivals from the back to finish fourth and advance to the final.
But the injury was too severe and he was unable to take his place in the final.
In the World Championships a year earlier, Cameron ran from lane four and measured himself supremely well before powering away strongly in the home straight to win in 45.05 seconds.
The three-time Olympian appeared on the scene at the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Canada, when he helped Jamaica to a silver medal in the 4x400m relay.
He won gold in the 1981 Central America and Caribbean Championships in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, Australia in 1982; the 1982 Central American and Caribbean Games in Havana, Cuba; and the 1983 World Championships; the 1985 Central America and Caribbean Games in Nassau, The Bahamas.
The Pan American Games in Indianapolis, US, in 1987 and the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea resulted in him winning silver medals.
At the 1987 World Championships Cameron failed to make it past the semi-finals and failed to defend his title as a result.
At the Seoul Olympics, he helped Jamaica to silver in the 4×400 relays.
Bertland Cameron was named Jamaican Sportsman of the Year consecutively from 1981-1983 and was the flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the 1984 Olympic Games. He is currently an athletics coach.
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