Jamaica will start their medal hunt on the first day as the World Athletics Indoor Championships gets under way early Friday morning (Jamaica time) at Stark Arena in Belgrade, Serbia.

Tokyo Olympic Games relay gold medallists Briana Williams and Shericka Jackson in the women’s 60m and Danniel Thomas-Dodd in the women’s shot put are the Jamaicans who will lead the charge on the opening day where Jamaicans will participate in four events, including the men’s and women’s 400m first round and semi-finals.

The Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) named a 16-member team (13 women and three men) for the three-day championships and will seek to surpass the two silver medals won the last time the event was held four years ago in Birmingham in the United Kingdom.

Four years ago Thomas-Dodd and triple jumper Kimberly Williams won Jamaica’s two medals and both were included in the list for this year’s renewal.

Poland’s 24-year-old Ewa Swoboda, who is unbeaten all year and has taken her personal best down to 6.99 seconds (10th best ever), is the favourite to win the women’s 60m gold, but Ato Boldon, coach of Jamaica’s Briana Williams, has warned that the former World Under-20 double sprint champion should not be counted out.

“The Briana that ran 7.19 seconds in January and 7.09 seconds in February has improved steadily and I think she’s ready to be a factor in Serbia,” he is quoted to have said. “Is there another 60m personal record coming? I believe so. That’s why we are going.”

Williams and Jackson, who has a personal best 7.2 seconds in the indoor 60m done this year, will have big spikes to fill after Jamaican sprinters have won three of the past five women’s world indoor 60m finals, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in Sopot, Poland, in 2014, Veronica Campbell-Brown in Doha, Qatar, in 2010 and Turkey in 2012 while Elaine Thompson-Herah claimed bronze in 2016 in Portland, Oregon.

A couple of Americans — Marybeth Sant-Price and Mikiah Brisco — have also run impressive times this season and could also feature as all three rounds of the event will be run on the first day, the heats and semi-finals in the morning session and the final later in the day.

After just missing out on advancing to the finals in Tokyo last year, finishing 13th overall, two-time silver medallist Thomas-Dodd will have a lot to prove with a season’s best 18.80m, her best indoor throw since her national indoor record of 19.22m, set when taking silver at the 2018 World Indoor Championships.

Undoubtedly the best-ever Jamaican female thrower, Thomas-Dodd will be seeking to become the first-ever Jamaican global throws champion.

Portugal’s European indoor champion Auriol Dongmo, the world leader with 19.90m national record, the best indoor throw in the world since 2016, and American Maggie Ewen, who has a best of 19.79m, are both unbeaten this year.

Jamaica is a medal contender in the women’s 4x400m relay and the three runners Stephenie Ann McPherson, a former finalist and relay medal winner; Roneisha McGregor and Junelle Bromfield are down to contest the 400m, starting Friday morning.

McPherson, who was a finalist in Tokyo, had a limited indoor season but is ranked sixth in Belgrade with a season’s and personal best 51.39 seconds.

Olympic finalist Christopher Taylor will be the lone Jamaican in the men’s 400m and is ranked 16th going into the competition with his season’s best 45.73 seconds