Jamaica don’t have same security concerns – JAAA boss

JAMAICA ATHLETICS Administrative Association (JAAA) president Garth Gayle says Jamaica will not be following United States Track and Field in deciding against going to the World Under-20 Championships in Lima, Peru.

USTAF cited security concerns as being one of the reasons for deciding against the August 26 involvement, however, Jamaica has no reason to take a similar stance.

“They would have their protocols, and so according to their protocols, they would have reasons to withdraw,” said Gayle.

According to Gayle, Jamaica has participated in that region in the past, and there were no problems.

“In the past, we would have sent teams to compete in that area at the Pan Am level, and there were no concerns about security. We will definitely be sending a team and a strong one to the World Under-20 Championships to that country,” said Gayle.

According to Gayle, there are other concerns that the USTAF had cited that were more in line with the JAAA experience but that the organisation would find a way around the challenges.

“We know that there will be several of our high-school students who will be transiting to colleges around that time, but we are planning to have one-on-one discussions with them to see how best possible this can be worked out,” said Gayle.

“We had a recent meeting at the executive level of the JAAA, and we came to a decision that the environment would be safe for our athletes to compete in. Also, what we must remember is that the meet is under the auspices of World Athletics, and they know about the security protocols and would have the interest of all participating countries at heart, and if it was not safe, they would have told us so,” he said.

“If World Athletics came out and said that the environment is not safe, then we would listen to them and not send a team.”

USTAF’s decision marks the second time in the past three Championships the United States will be withdrawing from the meet. In 2021, in Nairobi, Kenya, the United States did not participate, citing security concerns and COVID-19.