The quality and depth of the women’s 400m at this weekend’s Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) Senior Championships could overshadow most, if not all, of the other events at the four-day trials that will double as the qualifier for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Most attention will be glued to the super matchups in the 100m and 200m in both the men and women’s sections, the nail-biting clash in the men’s 110m hurdles between World leader Omar McLeod and Hansle Parchment and possibly the best women’s discus throw contest ever at a national championships.

The women’s quarter-mile, however, is arguably the most wide open event with the most quality and depth of any event on the schedule.

All four women who made it to the final on the one-lap event at last year’s IAAF World Championships then won the gold in the 4x400m relay in an epic upset of the USA are back and are expected to battle it out for the coveted top-three places for the individual spots.

It is expected that six women will be named to the relay pool from the event that starts this afternoon and ends on Sunday afternoon’s final session.

The emergence of former Holmwood Technical standout Chrisann Gordon and re-entry of another former Holmwood Technical runner Anneisha McLaughlin-Whilby could throw the cat among the pigeons and make for what is expected to be an intriguing competition.

Christine Day won last year’s final, beating Shericka Jackson with Stephenie-Ann McPherson third and they joined Novlene Williams-Mills, who skipped the Trials after she had earned a bye to the World Championships.

In Beijing, Jackson lowered her personal best twice on her way to bronze in the finals in 49.99 seconds, Day was fourth with 50.14 seconds, McPherson, the Commonwealth Games champion, was a disappointing fifth in 50.42 seconds and Williams-Mills sixth in a season’s best 50.47 seconds.

Based on form, Sunday’s final promises a stretch run to the line among Jackson, McPherson and Gordon.

Jackson’s best runs this season have all come in Kingston where she clocked 50.72 seconds to upset the field at the JN Racers Grand Prix on June 11, only for McPherson to run 50.44 seconds a day later at a low-keyed JAAA All-Comers meeting.

The veteran Williams-Mills, a breast cancer survivor and national champion many times over, is the third fastest Jamaican over the distance so far this season with 50.87 seconds, but the three rounds could be a bridge too far for her, and Gordon (51.03 seconds), Day (51.09 seconds) and McLaughlin Whilby (51.40 seconds) could make the race for third interesting.

A number of others could make the race for the relay spots intriguing; another veteran Patricia Hall has run 51.64 seconds, Annastacia Leroy, Jodiann Muir and two juniors Junelle Bromfield who ran 51.74 seconds and newly crowned national junior champion Tiffany James, who ran her lifetime best 52.06 seconds two weeks ago and promised to run faster this weekend.