Bertland Cameron (born 16 November 1959) is a retired

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

n sprinter who mainly competed over

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is ...

. He represented Jamaica at three consecutive editions of the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

. Cameron won the 400 m title at the first

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

. He was also the

1982 Commonwealth Games The 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Brisbane, Australia, from 30 September to 9 October 1982. The Opening Ceremony was held at the QEII Stadium (named after Elizabeth II), in the Brisbane suburb of Nathan. The QEII Stadium was also the ...

champion in the event and won a number of

gold medals A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

at regional competitions. He helped the Jamaican runners to a

silver medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

in the

4 × 400 metres relay The 4 × 400 metres relay or long relay is an athletics track and field, track event in which teams consist of four runners who each complete 400 metres or one lap, totaling 1600 meters. It is traditionally the final event of ...

at the

1988 Seoul Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were repres ...

. Cameron carried the Jamaican flag at the

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly constructed location or the start of an event.

of the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He was chosen as the Jamaica Sportsperson of the year three times consecutively from 1981 to 1983. He is currently a coach in Jamaica.

Career

Born in

Spanish Town Spanish Town (Jamaican Patois: Spain) is the capital and the largest town in the Parishes of Jamaica, parish of St. Catherine, Jamaica, St. Catherine in the historic county of Middlesex, Jamaica, Middlesex, Jamaica. It was the Spanish and Briti ...

Saint Catherine Parish Saint Catherine () is a parish in the south east of Jamaica. It is located in the county of Middlesex, and is one of the island's largest and most economically valued parishes because of its many resources. It includes the first capital of Ja ...

, his first medal on the international stage came at the

1978 Commonwealth Games The 1978 Commonwealth Games were held in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, from 3 to 12 August, two years after the 1976 Summer Olympics was held in Montreal, Quebec. They were boycotted by Nigeria, in protest at New Zealand's sporting contacts with a ...

, where he helped Jamaica to a 4 × 400 m relay

behind

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

.Commonwealth Games
GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2010-11-07. His first Olympic appearance soon followed and he reached the quarter-finals of the 400 m and also ran in the relay. He was schooled in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

on a

sports scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private school, private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on their ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the U ...

and won both the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

400 m titles indoors and outdoors in 1980 and 1981, and he went on to obtain a third outdoor title in 1983 for the

UTEP Miners The UTEP Miners is the name given to the sports teams of the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). They are informally referred to as the Miners, UTEP, or Texas–El Paso. UTEP was a member of the Western Athletic Conference from 1967 to 2005, ...

. Cameron represented the Americas at the

1981 IAAF World Cup The 3rd IAAF World Cup in Athletics was an international track and field sporting event sponsored by the International Association of Athletics Federations, held on September 4–6, 1981, at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy. Overall results ...

and came away with the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

in both the individual and relay events. He returned to the Commonwealth stage for the 1982 Games and he became the 400 m champion. Cameron won the 400 m at the inaugural World Championships in 1983. He had a good run in the 1984 Olympic semi-final, but halfway through the race grabbed his leg as a result of picking up a muscle injury. However, in one of the great comebacks of all time he miraculously managed to start running again and qualified for the final. Unfortunately his injury was such that he was not able to take his place in the final. He competed 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 , ...

but failed to defend his title, being eliminated in the semi-finals. He helped the Jamaican relay team to sixth place in the final. Four years after his injury-battling run, he ran at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

and helped win a silver medal in

. Outside of his global appearances for Jamaica, he enjoyed success at regional level. He won the 400 m at the 1981 Central American and Caribbean Championships and followed this with another

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

at the 1982 CAC Games. He returned to the CAC Championships in 1985 and won the silver medal behind Cuba's Roberto Hernández. At the

1987 Pan American Games The 1987 Pan American Games, officially known as the X Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event held in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, on August 7–23, 1987. Over 4,300 athletes from 38 countries in the Americas ...

, he beat the Cuban but again left with the silver medal as

Raymond Pierre Raymond Pierre (born September 19, 1967) is a former American track and field athlete, who competed in the sprinting events during his career. Pierre won the 1989 NCAA 400 meters running for Baylor University. He is best known for winning the men ...

took the title. After retiring from running, he became a coach in

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long spit (landform), sand spit which connects the town of Por ...

. He took on

Jermaine Gonzales Jermaine Gonzales (born 26 November 1984) is a retired Jamaican 400 metres runner. He was being coached by Glen Mills and Bertland Cameron. He had a successful start to international athletics in the young age categories, taking the 400 ...

and his charge broke the 400 m Jamaican record in 2010. He decided to start working with Gonzales within Glen Mills'

Racers Track Club Racers Track Club is a sprint training group located at 3 Port of Spain Drive, University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston, Jamaica. It was established by Glen Mills with the stated aim of producing a greater number of world champions than any o ...

that year.Foster, Anthony (2010-10-31)
Bert’s presence at Racers a big plus
Track Alerts. Retrieved on 2010-11-07.

International competitions

¹Did not start in the final

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cameron, Bert 1959 births Living people Sportspeople from Spanish Town Athletes from Saint Catherine Parish Jamaican male sprinters Olympic athletes for Jamaica Olympic silver medalists for Jamaica Athletes (track and field) at the 1980 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Jamaica Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Jamaica Athletes (track and field) at the 1978 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Pan American Games silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1979 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1987 Pan American Games World Athletics Championships athletes for Jamaica World Athletics Championships medalists UTEP Miners men's track and field athletes University of Texas at El Paso alumni Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Pan American Games silver medalists for Jamaica Competitors at the 1982 Central American and Caribbean Games Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Jamaica World Athletics Championships winners Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in athletics Medalists at the 1979 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games Medallists at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Jamaican Athletics Championships winners NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners 20th-century Jamaican sportsmen Commonwealth Games gold medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games silver medallists in athletics