3 months ago
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Jamaica’s relay teams will get their first chance of qualifying for the 2025 Tokyo World Athletics Championships when they take to the track early today at the World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou, China.
All five of Jamaica’s relay teams will be in action on day one of the meet as they look for automatic qualification to the World Athletics Championships.
The top two teams from each heat will advance to the World Athletics Championships set for September 13-21 in Tokyo, Japan, with the teams who initially failed to qualify getting another shot in the second qualifying rounds tomorrow.
Two of Jamaica’s marquee teams, the men’s and women’s 4x100 metres, will enter the first round with high expectations based on the experienced and accomplished members selected in the relay pool.
In the women’s 4x100m, the duo of Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson will headline the contingent and they will be supported by the young twin sensations, Tia and Tina Clayton.
They have been listed in heat two where they will line up against Liberia, Germany, Spain, Poland and China.
On the men’s side, the team has been weakened with the withdrawal of Ackeem Blake who pulled out of the team after suffering visible discomfort in the men’s 200m at the recent Miami Grand Slam Track meet.
However, in his absence, Jamaica can still rely on the presence of Olympic silver medallist Kishane Thompson who opened his 100m account this year with a speedy 9.99 seconds clocking at the Shanghai Diamond League.
The presence of veteran sprinter Yohan Blake, and the well-seasoned Julian Forte and Rohan Watson will only boost Jamaica’s chances of qualifying.
They will line up in the heat two where they will face Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Kenya, South Africa, Germany and Belgium.
A novel experience for the World Relays will be the introduction of the mixed 4x100m which will be held at the international competition for the first time.
With a running order of woman-woman-man-man, Jamaica will line up in heat two alongside Germany, Spain, Great Britain and China.
REDEMPTION
The men’s 4x400m relay will also stand as a major point of redemption for Jamaica as the team will be looking to erase last year’s disappointment where they had failed to qualify for the Paris Olympic Games.
Jamaica will be looking at a relay pool that includes a mix of experienced athletes and rising talents to secure their spot in Tokyo.
Zandrion Barnes and Malik James-King will be returning from the squad that competed last year with Rusheen McDonald, Javier Brown, Demar Francis, Delano Kennedy and Tarees Rhoden completing the pool.
Time Table (Jamaica time):
Mixed 4x100m Relay (6:01 a.m.)
Mixed 4x400m Relay (6:22 a.m.)
Women’s 4x100m Relay (7:03 a.m.)
Men’s 4x100m Relay (7:25 a.m.)
Women’s 4x400m Relay (7:53 a.m.)
Men’s 4x400m Relay (8:23 a.m.)
English (US) ·