Jamaica’s world record in the women’s 4x100m at the World Under-20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya, in August was ratified by World Athletics, a release from the global organisation announced on Monday.

The team of Serena Cole, individual 100m champion Tina Clayton, Kerrica Hill and Tia Clayton clocked 42.94 seconds, smashing the previous World U-20 record of 43.27 that had been set by Germany at the European U-20 Championships in Grosseto on July 23, 2017.

The time was also a World Under-18 best and faster than the previous national Under-20 record of 43.62 set by an Edwin Allen team at the Penn Relays in 2019.

In additional to the Under-20 girls’ 4x100m relay world record, Jamaicans presently owns six other world records, or for the Under-18 age group, world bests.

Ackera Nugent, the gold medallist in the 100m hurdles at the World Under-20 championships in Nairobi, holds the Under-18 world best with 12.89s, while Britany Anderson is the Under-20 world record holder with 12.71s.

Usain Bolt holds the world records in the men’s 100m (9.58) and the 200m (19.19), both set at the World Championships in Berlin in 2009, while the Jamaican men’s 4x100m team ran 36.84 seconds set at the London World Championships in 2019.

A Jamaican men’s team also set the world best 1:18.63 minutes for the men’s 4x200m set at the World Relays in Nassau, Bahamas, in 2014.

Also, Bolt’s Under-18 200m WR was broken this year by American Erriyon Knighton,who ran 19.84 in Eugene, Oregon, in June.

The Under-20 4x100m record by the Jamaicans was one of six world records that were set between January and August this year and were ratified by World Athletics.

The others are the men’s indoor triple jump 18.07m set by Hugues Fabrice Zango of Burkina Faso in January, the men’s indoor shot put 22.82m by American Ryan Crouser in January.

France’s World Under-20 champion Sasha Zhoya broke the men’s Under-20 110m hurdles record twice in two days in Nairobi, running 12.72 in the final where he beat Jamaica’s Vashaun Vascianna, while the South African men’s 4x100m relay team ran 38.51 to beat the previous best of 38.62 set by an American team at the 2019 Pan American Under-20 in Costa Rica.

The Jamaican team ran 38.61 to finish second behind the South Africans, setting a new national record.

— Paul A Reid