TWENTY of the 65 athletes who will be representing Jamaica at the World Athletics Championships will be attending the event for the first time, and at least two of them will have medal expectations.

Among them are 14 men and six women named to the team by the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) following the spectacular national championships that was held just over a month ago.

The World Championships, to be held in Budapest, Hungary, is set to start on Friday.

Two of those members — national men’s 400m champion Sean Bailey and horizontal jumper Carey McLeod — will not be first-timers at a global championships, however.

Carey competed in both long and triple jumps at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 while Bailey was a member of the men’s 4x400m relay team that qualified for the final.

Teenager Jaydon Hibbert is the world leader in the men’s triple jump, and experts are predicting at least a medal while some say gold is very much on the cards. Rajindra Campbell is number four in the men’s shot put; Roshawn Clarke is sixth in the men’s 400m hurdles; while on the female side Andrenette Knight is third in the 400m hurdles.

National men’s 100m champion Rohan Watson, Ryiem Ford, Andrew Hudson, Sean Bailey, Antonio Watson, Zandrion Barnes, D’Andre Anderson, Assinie Wilson, Romaine Beckford and Roje Stona are the other men who will be competing at the World Championships for the first time.

World Under-18 bronze medallist Kevona Davis, along with Nickisha Pryce, Joanne Reid, Ackera Nugent and Nyoka Clunis will be the other women set to make their debuts in Hungary.

Clunis will be the first hammer thrower to represent Jamaica at the World Championships and second ever at a global championships, after Daina Levy competed at the Rio Olympic Games in 2016.