PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania — Ian Forbes, the first vice president of the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA), has expressed confidence in the Jamaican teams’ ability to perform well in the 4x100m and 4x400m relays at the Penn Relays, despite the absence of several marquee athletes.

The Penn Relays meet has been granted World Athletics Continental Tour Silver status, meaning that athletes competing in individual events and countries participating in the relay competitions will earn more World Athletics points toward Olympic Games qualification as well as world-ranking points.

Jamaica’s 4x100m men’s team will be led by former national 100m champions Oshane Bailey and Tyquendo Tracey, along with rising sprint star Sandrey Davison. The team is completed by Ramone Barnswell and Michael Campbell. The men’s 4x400m relay team comprises Malik James-King, Terry Thomas, Zandrion Barnes, Assinie Wilson, and Tyrese Ebanks.

On the women’s side, sprinters Yanique Dayle, Jodean Williams, Shockoria Wallace, Leah Anderson, and Remona Burchell are set to compete in the 4x100m relays. The women’s 4x400m relay team consists of Ronda Whyte, Roniesha McGregor, Tovea Jenkins, and Ashley Williams.

Forbes told Observer Online that the meet presents a massive opportunity for these athletes to represent the country to the best of their abilities in front of a huge international audience and therefore he is urging them to give of their best.

“I expect them to perform well and equip themselves admirably because many of them are emerging athletes, with some of our celebrated athletes unavailable. It’s an opportunity for them to see how well they transition and perform at this level,” said Forbes.

“They will be performing on a big stage in front of a large crowd, so we expect them to do well and represent Jamaica to the best of their abilities,” he added.

Forbes highlighted that his organisation takes this event very seriously because the country earned relay points towards its Olympic rankings and therefore he is quite confident that everyone on the team will give their best effort for the country, especially with the National Championships coming up in June.

“I know these athletes would want to make a good impression because it is an Olympic year and we have the National Championships in June, so they would want to make a statement early on and ensure that they remain on the radar,” he said.

“It is very important for us because we will earn world ranking points from these events since it has been sanctioned by World Athletics, so it is crucial that we do well here,” Forbes asserted.

The teams will bow into action on Saturday’s final day of the three-day event.