Jamaica’s men’s 4×100 metre relay team delivered a thrilling performance this morning, clocking a scintillating season-best 37.80 seconds to win their event and punch their ticket to the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. The quartet of Rohan Watson, Oblique Seville, Kadrian Goldson, and Olympic silver medalist Kishane Thompson surged ahead of Great Britain, who also posted a season-best 38.08 seconds, to secure victory.
The result not only gave Jamaica the win but also pushed them into the 15th qualifying spot, knocking Nigeria out of the top 16 rankings needed for Tokyo.
On the women’s side, Jamaica’s sprint relay team—already qualified for Tokyo—finished second in their event with a time of 42.50 seconds. They trailed a dominant Great Britain team that stormed to a world-leading 41.69 seconds.
Seville Shines in Men’s 100m
Oblique Seville was unstoppable in the men’s 100 metres, clocking a breathtaking 9.86 seconds to take the title. Seville left Olympic champion Noah Lyles in his wake, with the American settling for second in a season-best 10.00 seconds. 2024 Diamond League champion Ackeem Blake finished fourth in 10.08 seconds.
Mixed Fortunes for Jamaican Women in Individual Events
Ashanti Moore placed seventh in the women’s 200 metres with a time of 22.86 seconds. The race was dominated by Olympic champion Julien Alfred, who scorched the track with a meet record, national record, and world-leading 21.71 seconds.
In the women’s 400-metre hurdles, Andrenette Knight secured a third-place finish in 53.79 seconds. Teammate Jeneive Russell finished eighth in 1:00.55. The event was won by world leader Femke Bol, who clocked 52.10 seconds.
Natoya Goule-Toppin, Commonwealth silver medalist, finished eighth in the women’s 800 metres with a time of 1:59.27.
Strong Field Performances
In the field events, long jumper Wayne Pinnock, who is bound for Turkey, leapt to gold with a mark of 8.29 metres. National champion Carey McLeod also reached the podium with a third-place finish, registering a jump of 8.10 metres.
In the men’s discus, Mykolas Alekna of Lithuania broke the Diamond League record with a monster throw of 71.70 metres, surpassing the previous record of 71.27 metres set in 2022. Jamaica’s Olympic champion Roje Stona placed fifth with a best effort of 64.71 metres.
Commonwealth Games gold medalist Lamara Distin struggled in the women’s high jump, finishing tied for seventh with USA’s Charity Hufnagel. Both cleared 1.85 metres.
