Four out of five Jamaican relay teams failed to deliver automatic Paris Olympic tickets on Day 1 of the World Relays in Bahamas
The Jamaican relay squads are on the brink of Paris Olympic elimination as just one of their five competing teams sealed an automatic ticket on Day 1 of the World Relays in the Bahamas.
Starting with the mixed 4x400m event, the quartet of Roshawn Clarke, Leah Anderson, Rusheen Mcdonald, and Janieve Russell clocked a Season's Best (SB) of 3:14.83 to finish third in their heat, led by Netherlands (3:12.16 CR) and Dominican Republic (3:14.39).
Following this, the women's 4x100m team fell into a more difficult situation as the squad of Jodean Williams, Tia Clayton, Alana Reid, and Remona Burchell raced to an SB of 43.33s to finish 5th in their heat.
The Polish team were the race winners in 42.81s, ahead of Canada in 42.98s, China in 43.03s, and Italy in 43.08s
Respite came in the men's 4x100m event as Sandrey Davison edged the Australian anchor leg runner to the second position despite both clocking the same time of 38.50s. Team Canada led by Olympic 200m champion Andre de Grasse were undisturbed, as they won the race in an SB of 38.11s.
In the men's and women's 4x400m events, the same cards played out with failure to punch automatic tickets as their squads finished third respectively.
Charokee Young, Ashley Williams, Junelle Bromfield, and Roneisha Mcgregor stopped the clock at 3:29.03, far behind Poland (3:227.11) and France (3:28.03).
While their compatriots Malik James-King, Zandrion Barnes, Assinie Wilson, and Demish Gaye lost the second position to a Chidi Okezie-inspired Nigerian team in 3:02.46.
Despite the Jamaican team's failures on Day 1, they have another opportunity for redemption on the second day when they take part in the repechage, where they'll be gunning for the top two positions in their heats to make the final top 14 countries.