GABORONE, Botswana – Just 24 hours after breaking a world record, Jamaica’s dynamic mixed 4x100m relay squad delivered another history-making performance at the Debswana World Athletics Relays, powering to gold and slashing even more time off their newly set global mark on Sunday.
The unchanged quartet of Ackeem Blake, Tina Clayton, Kadrian Goldson and Tia Clayton first made their mark in the qualifying rounds on Saturday, clocking 39.99 seconds to knock Canada’s long-standing world record off the books. Few expected the team to outdo themselves so quickly, but the Jamaican foursome found another gear in the high-stakes final, crossing the finish line in a stunning 39.62 seconds to etch their names deeper into athletics record books.
Beyond the gold medal and historic record, the victory earns Jamaica a spot in the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championships, a groundbreaking end-of-season event set to take place later this year in Budapest, Hungary. Unlike traditional world championships, the new competition will only invite the top six performers from each event throughout the season, creating a concentrated showdown between the very best athletes in the world. Sunday’s top-six finishers in Gaborone all secured their invitations to the historic first edition of the event.
Reporting by Paul A Reid