Shericka Jackson's coach reveals the 'silly' mistakes that cost Jamaica's 4x400m relay team an Olympic slot

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Shericka Jackson's coach reveals the 'silly' mistakes that cost Jamaica's 4x400m relay team an Olympic slot

Abigael Wafula 19:49 - 22.07.2024

Shericka Jackson's coach has revealed the two coaches who sabotaged the men's 4x400m relay team that failed to qualify for the Olympic Games, citing what they could have done different.

Shericka Jackson’s coach Stephen Francis has blamed the unprofessionalism of coach Jose Boesch aka coach Gil and coach David Riley for costing the men’s 4x400m relay team a slot to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Francis explained that coach Gil left Riley to handle everything concerning the team, a move that would lead to a disastrous end to the relay team’s campaign to the Olympic Games.

The veteran tactician explained that it was a move he knew was not going to work and noted that expecting the athletes who ran the 400m at the Jamaican Olympic trials to run the relay was an injustice and they would certainly not post faster times.

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“Mr. Gil, as good as he is, he has left it all in the hands of David Riley to make the decisions and Mr. Riley doesn’t even know what he is talking about or doing,” Francis told Natiowide90 FM.

“This 4x400m attempt was comical and I could tell long before that it’s not going to work because to expect the people who qualified for the 400m to run the 4x400m, they are not going to do it,” he added.

Francis had advised coach Mil to look for a race in Europe, noting that no meet organisers would decline the plea to have a relay run and help the Jamaican team qualify for the Olympic Games.

He insisted that he had informed the coach to consult either himself, coach Glen Mills or coach Maurice Wilson before making any crucial decisions but coach Mil did not heed to the advice and instead chose to do things his own way.

“What they should have done, the first weekend of May, they failed to qualify, you pick up the phone and go to Europe and ask one of the meets to arrange a 4x400m, the national teams in Europe won’t mind running or if not, they put together other people and choose a fast track to run,” he said.

“They are relying on people who don’t know the customs, practices, tricks and procedures and they don’t ask questions. I told Mr. Gil that the thing he was doing in the 400m was rubbish. I told him that before he makes any decision he should me, Mr. Mills or Mr. Wilson, people who know about the sport and have lived it. He never listened and it was bound to fail.”