KINGSTON, Jamaica – Jamaica’s women’s world under-20 4x100m record that was set at last year’s World Athletics Under-20 championships in Colombia has been ratified by World Athletics.

World Athletics announced on Monday on its website that the 42.59 seconds clocked by Serena Cole, Tina Clayton, Kerrica Hill and Tia Clayton to win the gold medal in Cali, Colombia on August 5 last year had been officially ratified.

The quartet beat the time of 42.94 seconds set by the same foursome a year earlier at the World Under 20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya.

The news came as a relief after a faster time, 42.58 seconds, that had been set by the same Jamaican women’s Under-20 team minus Hill (with Brianna Lyston instead), to win the gold medal at the CARIFTA Games in April, was not ratified.

World Athletics had said the time could not be recognised as the world record as only three of the four runners were drug tested by the Jamaican drug testing authorities.

Jamaican teams occupy five of the top nine positions on the World Athletics performance list with the 42.58 seconds still the fastest, followed by the time run in Cali with the time in Nairobi the third fastest.

-Paul A Reid