Jamaica look set to surpass Great Britain into second spot on the Olympic all-time 100m table as the world’s fastest man Usain Bolt hunts his third-consecutive title in a few weeks’ time.

Jamaica are currently third with 76 points in the International Associations of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Athletics Statistics Handbook for the 100m, just behind Great Britain with 78 points. The United States of America (USA), with 427.5 points, are way out in the lead.

Over the 120 years of competition in the 100m since the modern Olympics in 1896 staged in Athens Greece (30 Olympics), the USA have won the event 17 times, to go along with 14 silver and eight bronze.

Great Britain have three gold, two silver and three bronze.

Jamaica have two gold, four silver and one bronze, and with eight points for a win, seven points for second, six for third, straight down to one for eighth, Jamaica are remarkably ahead of more populated countries like Canada, Germany, South Africa, Russia and Australia.

In front of a reported 40,000 people, American Thomas Burke won the first modern-day 100m Olympic title in 12.0 seconds ahead of Fritz Hofmann of Germany and Alajos Szokolyi of Hungary.

The USA won the first four 100 metres with Archie Hahn triumphing in 1904 and 1906. However, the latter was not recognised by the International Olympic Committee because that 1906 Olympics was also called the Intercalated Games in Greece. In 1906, although medals were distributed, they are not officially recognised today and are not displayed in the collection of Olympic medals at the Olympic Museum in Switzerland.

Reggie Walker of South Africa broke the American dominance in 1908, while Harold Abrahams was the first British champion in 1924. Percy Williams won for Canada in 1928.

Jamaica, participating in just its second Olympics in Helsinki, Finland, came within a whisker when Herb McKenley lost in a photo finish in 1952 with Lindy Remigino of the USA getting the gold. Both were clocked at 10.4 seconds.

Jamaica would come close on a number of other occasions, with Lennox Miller grabbing second in 1968 (10.0) and bronze in 1972 (10.33). Miller had the unique distinction of winning two medals in the 100m at consecutive Olympic Games.

Don Quarrie was edged out in 1976 by Hasley Crawford of Trinidad and Tobago for the gold. Crawford won in 10.06 with Quarrie second in 10.07.

Raymond Stewart has the distinction of being the only male athlete to reach three consecutive 100m finals between 1984-1992. He was sixth in 1984 (10.29); pulled up injured in 1988 and was seventh in 1992 (10.22).

Michael Green carried the flag for Jamaica in 1996 and was seventh (10.16), while Asafa Powell was fifth in 2004 (9.94), which was his first of three consecutive finals. Powell, the former world record holder, was fifth in 2008 (9.95) and pulled up injured in 2012.

After 60 years of waiting, Jamaica finally tasted victory in the 100m at the Olympic Games courtesy of Usain Bolt in 2008.

Bolt won in a then world record of 9.69. It was also the first time Jamaica had three athletes in the final, with Powell fifth and Michael Frater sixth with 9.97.

Things got even better for Jamaica as Bolt defended his title at the London Olympics in 2012 winning in an Olympic record of 9.63 seconds and, to make things even sweeter, Jamaica’s Yohan Blake grabbed second in 9.95.

So with Jamaica sitting just two points behind Great Britain, and with Bolt hunting a record third-consecutive victory and Blake finding his best form, Jamaica should leapfrog the British after the final is run on August 14.

Despite having to wait until 2008 to secure that elusive 100m gold, Jamaica can stake claim to at least three people that struck gold in three consecutive Olympics Games 1988, 1992 and 1996.

Ben Johnson, who was born in Kingston in 1961 but emigrated to Canada in 1976, won bronze in 1984 and struck gold in 1988 in a then world record of 9.79. but was later disqualified for a doping violation.

Then in 1992 at the Barcelona Olympics, Linford Christie, who was born in St Andrew in 1960 and emigrated to England as a seven-year-old, struck gold for Great Britain, winning in 9.96 seconds.

Four years later, at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Donovan Bailey, who was born in Manchester in 1976 and emigrated to Canada at age 13, won the 100m in a then world record of 9.84 seconds.

Had both Christie and Bailey represented the land of their birth, Jamaica would have been a clear second on the 100m points table.