PHILADELPHIA, USA — After not being held for two years due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, participants in the Penn Relays Carnival that starts at Franklin Field in Philadelphia on Thursday can expect sunny but cool conditions, the weather forecast has promised.

Twenty-six Jamaican high schools and five college teams are listed to take part in the three-day carnival, with temperatures between 14-18 degrees Celsius (mid 60 degrees Farenheit).

It is still unsure if all 31 institutions will make the trip as up to Monday some schools had not received appointments at the US Embassy for entry visas.

Jamaican high school teams will defend six relay titles here this weekend. Calabar High had won the boys’ 4x400m and 4x800m in 2019, while St Jago had won the 4x100m.

On the girls’ side, Edwin Allen had won the 4x100m and 4x800m, with Holmwood Technical winning the 4x400m.

Five Jamaican high school students are ranked number one in their respective events — Holmwood Technical’s Chericka Williams in the girls’ discus throw and St Jago High’s Annishka Mcdonald in the high jump for girls, while on the boys’ side, the Edwin Allen pair of Trevor Gunzel in the discus throw and Christopher Young in the shot put, plus Kingston College’s Jaydon Hibbert in the triple jump.

There has been a number of changes to the schedule this year, with the 400m hurdles for high school boys and girls taken off the list of events to be contested.

— Paul Reid