Relay regret

Jamaica Athletics Association (JAAA) first vice-president Ian Forbes believes the main reason Jamaica failed to qualify for the men’s 4x400m relay at the Paris Olympics was the absence of some of the country’s top quarter-mile runners.

It is only the second time since 1948 that Jamaica has failed to qualify for the tournament, despite a special relay being organised on the final day of the JAAA/PUMA Senior National Championships at the National Stadium.

Sunday’s race featured three teams from Jamaica and one from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, all aiming to beat Zambia’s qualifying time of 2 minutes 59.12 seconds. But despite their efforts, the fastest Jamaican team came up just short of the target with a time of 2 minutes 59.87 seconds.

Forbes praised the efforts of the players in trying to qualify but expressed disappointment at the missed opportunity.

“From a personal standpoint, I am extremely disappointed and heartbroken that we came so close to qualifying and didn’t make it,” Forbes said. “I have to commend the young men who made a valiant effort to qualify but just missed their target.”

Forbes acknowledged that key players had withdrawn from the tournament for various reasons, which had affected Jamaica’s chances of winning.

“It’s unfortunate that some of the players who were initially expected to play withdrew for various reasons,” he explained. “If even one of them had played, we probably would have qualified.”

National champion DeAndre Watkin and Jevaughn Powell, who placed third in the 400m final, withdrew due to injury. Sean Bailey, who placed second in the 400m final, also withdrew on Sunday due to injury. All three have run times under 45 seconds and are among Jamaica’s fastest 400m runners this season.

Jamaica had previously tried but narrowly missed out on qualifying for the 4x400m relay at the IAAF World Championships in Nassau and the NACAC New Life Invitational in the Bahamas, but Forbes noted that despite efforts to communicate with coaches and managers, there were challenges, including last-minute withdrawals.

“I don’t know where we went wrong,” Forbes reflected. “Some people will say we didn’t tell them the World Relays were a qualifying event, and we should have told them that sooner. But regardless, we selected our team, we went to the Bahamas and we had withdrawals along the way, some quite late in the process. We’ve had late withdrawals ever since.”

“This would have caused a lot of headaches for the coaching staff in terms of final team composition.”

Minister of Sports Olivia “Bubsy” Grange, who attended the National High School Championships on Sunday, expressed disappointment with the results but was optimistic that the country’s athletes would perform well at the Olympics.

“I have to admit I am disappointed but there is a reason for every disappointment in life,” Grange said, “But as Jamaicans we are champions, we are positive people and we never give up. So I want to say to the athletes competing in the 4x400m relay that they did a great job and I appreciate their efforts.”