In a stunning upset at the Debswana World Athletics Relays held in Gaborone, Botswana, both Jamaica’s men’s and women’s 4x400m relay teams have failed to secure qualification for next year’s Beijing World Championships. Both squads finished outside the top two in their decisive second-round races on Sunday, ending their hopes of booking a spot at the global showcase. The disappointing outcome comes after underwhelming performances in the opening round the previous day, where both teams crossed the line in fifth place in their respective heats. That result dropped them into the second-chance qualifying round, where they were unable to turn their fortunes around despite incremental improvements in their times. Jamaican Athletics opted to keep the same lineups that competed in the first round for the crucial second opportunity. The women’s squad, made up of Andrenette Knight, Leah Anderson, Janielle Josephs and Shiann Salmon, clocked 3:25.38 in the second round – a full 1.81 seconds faster than their Saturday time of 3:27.19. The performance earned them third place in their heat and third place across all second-round competitors, but it was not enough to earn one of the two qualification spots up for grabs. Ireland claimed the top spot in the heat with a winning time of 3:23.83, while France followed closely in second at 3:24.48; both European squads secured their places in Beijing as a result. On the men’s side, the unchanged quartet of Assinie Wilson, Jevaughn Powell, Jeremy Bembridge and Reheem Hayles crossed the line in fourth place in their second-round heat with a time of 3:01.63. While the team had posted a faster 3:00.48 in the first round, Sunday’s result placed them ninth overall among all second-round contenders, well outside the top-two cutoff required for qualification. The surprising failure of two Jamaican relay squads to reach the World Championships marks a rare misstep for the country’s renowned track and field program, which has long dominated global sprint and relay competitions. By Paul A Reid
World Relays: Jamaica’s men and women’s 4×400 teams fail to book World Champs tickets
