On the second day of the 2024 Debswana World Athletics Relays held in Gaborone, Botswana, Jamaica’s mixed 4x400m relay squad delivered a stunning performance on Sunday, shattering their own two-year-old national record to secure a silver medal on the global stage.
Composed of sprinters Deandre Watkin, Shana Kay Anderson, Antonio Watson and Rushell Clayton, the Jamaican team kept the same line-up that dominated Saturday’s opening qualifying round, and lived up to expectations by clocking an impressive 3 minutes 8.24 seconds. This result knocked nearly three seconds off the previous national benchmark of 3:11.06, which was set at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
The United States team claimed the gold medal after crossing the finish line in 3:07.47, a new Championship record that outpaced the Jamaican squad by less than a second. Great Britain rounded out the top three with a solid time of 3:09.84, securing the bronze medal in the competitive mixed 4x400m event.
This result marks a major breakthrough for Jamaican mixed relay athletics, highlighting the country’s continued depth in 400-meter level sprinting heading into future major international competitions.