Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn (born 9 April 1964) is a

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 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 contested at ...

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 slight ...

. As an athlete, Cuthbert-Flynn competed at four

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

, winning two

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, ...

s 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 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 served as Prime Minister of Jamaica since 3 March 2016, having previously served from 2011 to 2012, and as Leader of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) since 2011. Ho ...

selected his new slate of Cabinet Ministers.

Education

Cuthbert attended Morant Bay High School and later Olney High School in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

and the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

. While at

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, she won the Broderick Award (later referred to as the Honda-Broderick Award and now the

Honda Sports Award The Honda Sports Award is an annual award in the United States, given to the best collegiate female athlete in each of twelve sports. There are four nominees for each sport, and the twelve winners of the Honda Sports Award are automatically in t ...

) 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 (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

held in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of 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 c ...

, 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 × 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 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 1896 Summer Olympics, inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, ...

for her and the other women of the Jamaican relay team. In 1992, Cuthbert was voted Jamaican "Sportswoman of the Year". Four years later, at the Atlanta Olympic Games of 1996, Cuthbert helped the Jamaican 4 × 100 meter sprint relay team along with Michelle Freeman, Nikole Mitchell, and

Merlene Ottey Merlene Joyce Ottey (born 10 May 1960) is a Jamaican-Slovenian former track and field sprint (running), sprinter. She began her career representing Jamaica in 1978 and continued to do so for 24 years before representing Slovenia from 2002 to 20 ...

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

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

) and two silver medals (

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

) at

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 ...

(actually,

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

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. On February 25, 2016 General Election, she went on to defeat the

People's National Party The People's National Party (PNP) (PNP; ) is a Social democracy, social democratic List of political parties in Jamaica, political party in Jamaica, founded in 1938 by Norman Manley, Norman Washington Manley who served as party president unti ...

'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 Sportspeople 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 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 Jamaican Athletics Championships winners Texas Longhorns women's track and field athletes NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners