Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn (born 9 April 1964) 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 politician and retired track and field 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 ...

. As an athlete, Cuthbert-Flynn competed at four

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

, winning two silver medals at the 1992 games held in Barcelona. As a politician, she has been the Jamaica Labour Party's Candidate and Member of Parliament for the St. Andrew West Rural constituency, defeating the People's National Party candidate Hugh Buchanan in Jamaica's General Elections held February 25, 2016. She went on to defeat the People's National Party Krystal Tomlinson to win a second term as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for the St. Andrew West Rural constituency, in the September 3, 2020 General Election. She was appointed State Minister in the Ministry of Health and Wellness following her reelection, when Prime Minister

Andrew Holness Andrew Michael Holness, (born 22 July 1972) is a Jamaican politician who has been the Prime Minister of Jamaica since 3 March 2016, following the 2016 Jamaican general election. Holness previously served as prime minister from October 2011 to ...

selected his new slate of Cabinet Ministers.

Education

Cuthbert attended Morant Bay High School and later

Olney High School Olney Charter High School, formerly Aspira Charter School at Olney, and Olney High School, is a public high school located in the Olney neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Previously directly controlled by the School District of Philade ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

and the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

. While at

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, she won the Broderick Award, (later referred to as the Honda-Broderick Award and now the Honda Sports Award) as the nation's best female collegiate track and field competitor in 1986.

Career

Athletics

Cuthbert competed for her native country of Jamaica in 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 ...

held in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, Spain, in both the 100 meter sprint and the 200 meter sprint, winning the silver medals in both competitions. After running a good second leg in the 4 x 100 meter sprint relay final, Cuthbert injured a muscle in her leg before she competed in the second chance and dropped out of the race. This was a disappointing finish to the Summer Olympic Games for her and the other women of the Jamaican relay team. In 1992, Cuthbert was voted as the Jamaican "Sportswoman of the Year". Four years later at the Atlanta Olympic Games of 1996, Cuthbert helped the Jamaican 4 x 100 meter sprint relay team along with

Michelle Freeman Michelle Freeman (born 5 May 1969) is a former Jamaican track & field athlete who was an Olympic bronze medalist. Freeman was born in Saint Catherine Parish, Jamaica. In 1988, she was awarded the Austin Sealy Trophy for the most outstanding a ...

Nikole Mitchell Nikole Alangia Mitchell (also spelled ''Nicole;'' born 5 June 1974) is a retired Jamaican sprinter who specialized in the 100 metres. She also competed on the successful Jamaican team in the 4 x 100 metres relay, winning an Olympic bronze medal ...

, and

Merlene Ottey Merlene Joyce Ottey (born 10 May 1960) is a Jamaican-Slovenian former track and field sprinter. She began her career representing Jamaica in 1978, and continued to do so for 24 years, before representing Slovenia from 2002 to 2012. She is ran ...

finish in third place and win the bronze medal. With the Jamaican sprint relay team, Cuthbert also won a gold medal (

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

) and two silver medals (

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

) at

World Championships in Athletics The World Athletics Championships (until 2019 known as the World Championships in Athletics) are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics (formerly IAAF, International Association of Athletics Federations). Alongside the Ol ...

(actually,

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 ...

) .

Politics

In 2014 Cuthbert-Flynn entered politics when the Jamaica Labour Party introduced Cuthbert-Flynn to the media at the Jamaica Labour Party's 71st anniversary celebration press conference and re-launch of the party’s website at its Belmont Road Headquarters in St. Andrew. It was later announced that she would become the party's standard-bearer in the St. Andrew West Rural constituency. She was appointed by then Opposition Leader

, as Junior Opposition Spokesperson for Health and Healthy Living. In the February 25, 2016 General Election, she went on to defeat the

People's National Party The People's National Party (PNP) is a social-democratic political party in Jamaica, founded in 1938 by independence campaigner Osmond Theodore Fairclough. It holds 14 of the 63 seats in the House of Representatives, as 96 of the 227 local go ...

's incumbent Paul Buchanan, becoming the first Olympian elected to Jamaica's Parliament. Throughout her time as a legislator, she has pushed for the legalisation of abortion in Jamaica and has been a strong advocate for the women in the population. She was re-elected for a second term, to continue representing the St. Andrew West Rural constituency in the September 3, 2020 General Elections. Cuthbert-Flynn defeated the People's National Party Krystal Tomlinson, widening her victory margin from her 2016 election win. Cuthbert-Flynn was appointed State Minister in the Ministry of Health and Wellness on September 12, 2020, to serve alongside Dr Christopher Tufton who is the portfolio Minister. As State Minister in the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Cuthbert-Flynn is primarily responsible for Maternal Health, HIV Prevention and the reduction of Drug Abuse.

International competitions

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cuthbert, Juliet 1964 births Living people People from Saint Thomas Parish, Jamaica Jamaican female sprinters Olympic athletes for Jamaica Olympic silver medalists for Jamaica Olympic bronze medalists for Jamaica Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for Jamaica World Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Goodwill Games medalists in athletics 21st-century Jamaican women politicians 21st-century Jamaican politicians World Athletics Indoor Championships medalists World Athletics Championships winners Competitors at the 1994 Goodwill Games Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in athletics Olympic female sprinters Members of the House of Representatives of Jamaica Members of the 13th Parliament of Jamaica Members of the 14th Parliament of Jamaica Women government ministers of Jamaica Ministers of Health of Jamaica