Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica - favourites at Beijing 2008 Olympics
[PHOTO: Jamaica's Usain "Lighting Bolt poses with Trinidad and Tobago's Richard "Torpedo" Thompson, from the album "Olympic Pics" by Cariblife Central]"Unlike Thursday when it was wet, rainy and overcast, the weather today is bright and sunny with a blue and cloudless sky. The kind of day critics said would not be possible in pollution blighted Beijing. Well how the naysayers have been proven wrong," the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee said in its online blog at ttoc.org.
"Caribbean sunshine has most certainly hit Beijing. Just imagine the China Daily is billing the men's 4 x 100 m relay finals that will take place at 10:10 am [Trinidad time] as the Battle of the Caribbean," the writer says.
Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago are listed as surprise favourites following the elimination of the USA and Great Britain - the Athens 2004 sprint relay gold medal winner.
The favourites entering the event are Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Japan, the Netherlands, Germany, Canada and China in that order.
The Bird's Nest is expected to have another capacity crowd of 91,000.
Usain "Lightning" Bolt - the Jamaican 100 meter gold medalist in this Olympics - and Richard "Torpedo" Thomspon - the silver medalist in the same event - now have Chinese fans to come out to see them compete.
For his part, TTOC President Larry Romany believes the quartet "that best deals with the pressure and expectation will win."
"Can you imagine? We have lived to see the day at an Olympic Games where the Caribbean is the center of attraction," he was quoted as saying in response to Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica entering as favourites.
The T&T Olympic chief said it will be important for the T&T men to focus on executing the baton exchanges.
"The guys have to stay in the moment and concentrate.They cannot get ahead of themselves. A podium finish is there for the taking."
[PHOTO: Sorry ladies, he seems to have a friend. In the file photo (L) from the album "My Pics" by Richard "Torpedo" Thompson, the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic star poses with fellow Beijing 2008 Olympian Monique Cabral. A runner from the same university as Thompson, the talented Cabral was also a Carnival costume model last year.]