The three athletes who will represent Jamaica in the women’s 100m hurdles at the IAAF World Championships in Doha, Qatar, later this year will be selected based on their IAAF rankings as of August 16, the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) announced on Wednesday night.

The decision was made following Sunday’s aborted final of JAAA Supreme Ventures National Championships at the National Stadium after the disqualification of 2015 World Championships gold medallist Danielle Williams and the ensuing chaos that led to the final being voided.

Williams, meanwhile, will not be eligible for selection by the JAAA on account of her disqualification for a false start, but JAAA President Dr Warren Blake said in the event she earned a wild card via the Diamond League, “We, the federation, would meet to discuss if we would accept it.”

He went on to explain that the IAAF could not name anyone to a national team and it would still be up to the JAAA to accept the invite on her behalf.

In a release sent out just after 9:00 pm on Wednesday over the signature of President Blake, it was announced that while Williams would not be eligible for selection given her disqualification from the event and the impracticality of having a rerun, “The athletes to represent Jamaica in the 100 Metres Hurdles for Women at the 2019 IAAF World Championships in Doha, Qatar, will be selected based on the IAAF Ranking as of August 16, 2019”.

The three, the release went on, would come from the seven runners left in the race following Williams’ disqualification. “The three (3) of the seven (7) competitors with the highest ranking in the 100 Metres Hurdles for Women at that time will therefore be selected to represent Jamaica,” stated the release.

Speaking with the Jamaica Observer yesterday, Dr Blake clarified that it would not be the fastest times that would be used, but the IAAF rankings that were introduced this season.

“The IAAF is moving towards using the ranking system and soon that will be the primary system that will be used,” Dr Blake explained.

The ranking system awards points based on where an athlete finishes in an event which will also carry different ‘weight’, that is, a Diamond League meet or a World Challenge would be given more importance than an area permit meet or a small meet in the US or Europe for example.

As of yesterday, new National Record holder and NCAA champion Janeek Brown was ranked 16th with 1,229 points, Yanique Thompson is at 28th with 1,204 points, Jeanine Williams is 40th with 1,188 points, and Megan Tapper is 49th with 1177 points.

Williams is currently the number two ranked in the world with 1,358 points behind American World record holder Kendra Harrison’s 1,386 points.

— Paul Reid