John Mair (born 20 November 1963) is a

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

n former

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

sprinter who competed in the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

and

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

. He won several medals with the Jamaican relay team, taking Jamaica's first World Championships relay medal (a bronze) at the

1987 World Championships in Athletics The 2nd World Championships in Athletics under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations were held in the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy between August 28 and September 6, 1987. Men's results Track 1983 , 1987 ...

, as well as a bronze medal at the Pan American Games in 1987 and two relay bronze medals at the 1990 Commonwealth Games. He set a 100 m personal best of 10.18 seconds in 1992.John Mair
. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2015-10-10. He was the 1990 Jamaican champion in the 100 m and was the gold medallist at that distance at the

Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics The Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Championships is an international track and field athletics event organised by the Central American and Caribbean Athletic Confederation (CACAC). Only athletes representing a member nation of the confede ...

in 1991. He represented his country in the 100 m at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

, where he was also fourth in the relay.

Career

Mair only reached international level of the sport at age twenty-three and did not compete at a high level in his youth. His first major competition was the

1987 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics The 1987 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics were held at the Estadio Olímpico in Caracas, Venezuela between 24–26 July. Medal summary Men's events Women's events Medal table See also * 1987 in athletics (trac ...

and he came away with three medals: bronze medals in the 100 m and 200 m, and a gold medal in the 4×100 metres relay.Central American and Caribbean Championships (Men)
GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-10-10. This marked the beginning of much success with the Jamaican men's relay team. At the 1987 Pan American Games the following month he was eighth in the 200 m final and claimed a bronze medal in the relay, running the anchor leg in a quartet with Ray Stewart, Andrew Smith and Clive Wright.John Mair
Brinkster Track and Field. Retrieved on 2015-10-10. The team regrouped for the

, with Mair leading off this time, and won another bronze medal – the first time that Jamaican men won a relay medal at the competition. Mair made him Olympic debut at the

1988 Seoul Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

and, after being eliminated in the quarter-finals of the individual 100 m, he joined up with Christopher Faulknor, Greg Meghoo, and Clive Wright for the relay. The team came close to their World Championship medal-winning time in the 4×100 m relay final, but ended in fourth behind the French team who were seven hundredths faster. A double bronze medal win came for Mair at the 1990 Commonwealth Games as the Jamaican men took third in both the 4×100 m relay and

4×400 metres relay Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

(Mair and Wright ran in both teams, with Ray Stewart and

Wayne Watson Wayne may refer to: People with the given name and surname * Wayne (given name) * Wayne (surname) Geographical Places with name ''Wayne'' may take their name from a person with that surname; the most famous such person was Gen. "Mad" Antho ...

being in the 100 m team and Devon Morris and Howard Burnett in the longer sprint quartet). Mair also placed sixth in the semi-finals of the 100 m individually.John Mair
TheCGF. Retrieved on 2015-10-10. He was the Jamaican champion over 100 m that year, interrupting a long-running streak of national titles by Ray Stewart. Four years on from his debut year, he returned to the same competitions. He won the highest individual honour of his career at the 1991 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics, taking the 100 m title, and was also a relay silver medallist. The

1991 Pan American Games The 1991 Pan American Games were held in Havana, Cuba from August 2 to August 18, 1991. There were 4,519 athletes from 39 countries of the PASO community, with events in 33 different sports. The main stadium was the Estadio Panamericano, a mul ...

followed and he placed fifth in the 100 m, but did not take a medal in the relay. The

1991 World Championships in Athletics The 3rd World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held in the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan between August 23 and September 1. 1517 athletes from 167 countries participa ...

brought together a team of Dennis Mowatt, Ray Stewart, Michael Green, and Mair on the anchor leg. The group did not reach the heights of four years earlier, but performed well with a time of 38.67 seconds to place sixth in the final. He set a best of 10.18 seconds for the 100 m in Kingston, Jamaica that year – this was a lifetime best and the only time that he ranked in the top thirty globally for the event in his career. He did not compete at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

. His final international outings were a run in the early rounds of the 200 m at the

1993 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 4th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held at the Skydome in Toronto, Ontario, Canada from March 12 to March 14, 1993. It was the last Indoor Championships to feature the 5,000 and 3,000 metres race walk events. In addition, i ...

,John Mair Honours
IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-10-10. and appearances at the

1994 Commonwealth Games The 1994 Commonwealth Games (French: ''XVéme Jeux du Commonwealth'') were held in Victoria, British Columbia, from 18 to 28 August 1994. Ten types of sports were featured at the Victoria Games: athletics, aquatics, badminton, boxing, cycling ...

, where he ran in the 100 m heats and was five hundredths short of a relay medal in fourth.

National titles

Jamaican Athletics Championships The Jamaican Athletics Championships is an annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association, which serves as the national championship for the sport in Jamaica.Jamaican Championships
GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-10-10.

International competitions

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mair, John Living people 1963 births Jamaican male sprinters Olympic athletes of Jamaica Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1987 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1991 Pan American Games Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 1990 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1994 Commonwealth Games World Athletics Championships athletes for Jamaica World Athletics Championships medalists Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Jamaica Pan American Games bronze medalists for Jamaica Competitors at the 1990 Goodwill Games Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games