World Relays Fallout: Jamaica on the Bubble for Key Relay Spots at Tokyo World Championships

Jamaica’s underwhelming showing at the 2025 World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou, China has left the country in a precarious position regarding qualification for several relay events at the upcoming World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan this September.

Despite Jamaica’s powerhouse reputation in global sprinting, only two of five possible relay squads have secured their spots in Tokyo so far: the women’s 4x100m and men’s 4x400m. According to World Athletics Technical Official Bruce James, the remaining three teams—women’s 4x400m, men’s 4x100m, and the mixed 4x400m—must now take alternate routes to qualification, relying on performances at approved meets between now and August 25, 2025.

James explained that Jamaica currently sits 16th, the final qualifying position in the women’s 4x400m, based on the 3:24.92 the team ran at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

“As long as only the 15 countries ranked ahead of Jamaica run faster than that time between now and August 25, Jamaica is in,” James said. “The Netherlands, ranked 15th, looks safe with their 3:19.50 insurance policy.”

In the men’s 4x100m, Jamaica is on the outside looking in. Ranked 18th with a best of 38.45 from the Paris Games, the team is behind Nigeria and the Netherlands, who are tied for 15th and 16th with identical 38.20 marks.

“The minimum requirement is therefore 38.19 and hope no other country (other than those in the top 14) goes faster,” James said.

Jamaica also finds itself on the edge in the mixed 4x400m, currently holding the 16th and final qualifying spot with a time of 3:11.06, again from the 2024 Olympics.

“The Netherlands have a gold-plated insurance policy in 15th place with 3:07.43 (the second-fastest time recorded in history),” James noted. “So in the absence of a near-impossible overturn of Germany’s second place at World Relays, the Jamaican team has to watch their back if meets start hosting mixed relay events.”

Jamaica will likely have to find events where they can field relay teams to achieve the qualification standards. With just over three months remaining until the qualification window closes, national officials must act swiftly to secure entries into sanctioned competitions that can provide both the competition and legal framework needed to post faster times.

The stakes are high. With only two relay teams guaranteed to compete in Tokyo, the coming weeks could determine whether Jamaica sends a full relay contingent to the World Championships—or risks missing out on multiple podium opportunities on the global stage.