BIRMINGHAM, England – Despite featuring four male swimmers for the first time in recent history, Jamaica will not be able to field a relay team at the Commonwealth Games as a result of an administrative issue.

Coach Wendy Lee told the Jamaica Observer that the swimmers were extremely disappointed by the situation but were all eager to get their individual competitions going, with action getting underway at Sandwell Aquatics Centre on Friday.

According to our information, the Jamaica Olympics Association officials failed to enter the team leaving the country’s four male swimmers – Olympian Keanan Dols, Nathaniel Thomas, Kito Campbell and Sidrell Williams – without the chance to compete in a relay event for the national team for the first time at this level.

“The relays are a bit of a sensitive issue. We do have four amazing swimmers who are all here to swim their best stroke because we have Keanan, Nathaniel, Sidrell and between the three of them, they can just choose among themselves who is swimming the backstroke, the butterfly, and the freestyle. It doesn’t matter what order we put them in, they can all deliver at that level. And then we have a breaststroker in Kito,” said Lee.

“So ideally, we should have had the most amazing medley relay team we’ve ever had but there was an administrative challenge, and Jamaica was not entered in relays,” said Lee when asked about the issue surrounding the relay entry.

All of Jamaica’s swimmers will be in action on Friday.

Dols will lead the way in men’s 100m backstroke heats. He will be joined by youngster Nathaniel Thomas, in the second heat of the event starting at 11:51am (5:51am Jamaica time).

Sidrell Williams in the men’s 50m butterfly at 11:31am (5:31am), Mackenzie Headley in the women’s 50m breaststroke at 11:41am (5:41am), Zaneta Alvaranga at 12:04pm (6:04am) and Kelsie Leigh Campbell at 12:13pm (6:13am) in the women’s 100m butterfly and Kito Campbell in the men’s 200m breaststroke at 12:20pm (6:20am) will also be in action Friday.

Lee expressed gratitude for the number of swimmers selected for the team and believes it will serve as an inspiration and a key factor in the development of the programme in Jamaica.

“You know, the fact that the Jamaica Olympic Association thought that we were worthy enough to not just bring one male and one female, but actually have eight persons in our aquatics team, of course, Yona (Knight Wisdom) in diving, but to have seven swimmers here is an honour, but also a huge obligation,” said Lee.