Above: the Olympic Stadium (Photo: London 2012)
By the Caribbean Journal staff
Jamaica’s strong track showing gave Cuba a run in the London Olympics, but a surge on the final day of competition vaulted Cuba into the top spot on the Caribbean medal leaderboard.
Jamaica’s world-record-breaking performance in the men’s 4×100-metre final Saturday night gave the country its 12th medal, its best-ever performance in a single Games.
Temporarily, it also gave Jamaica the lead in the Caribbean, until Cuba took home two gold medals on the final day in London, led by Cuban wrestler Livan Lopez Azcuy’s gold in the men’s 66kg freestyle.
Cuban boxer Robeisy Ramirez Carrazana also took home gold Sunday in the men’s Fly (52kg).
The golds brought Cuba its 13th and 14th medals of the tournament, although that was short of its performance at previous Olympics.
In Beijing, for example, Cuba took home 24 medals. Its best-ever performance was a total of 31 in Barcelona in 1992.
See below for the final Caribbean Olympic tally: