ONLY the top three finishers in the men’s and women’s 100m and 400m events at this month’s Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) National Senior Championships will be named for the respective relay pools at the Paris Olympic Games, it was announced recently.

In accordance with what the JAAA has described as a revised policy, “The remaining members of the relay pool will be selected by the JAAA Selection Committee,” a document that was circulated and which the Jamaica Observer saw a copy of said.

The document also stated, “Due to the uniqueness of the Paris 2024 team quotas as stipulated by the IOC and World Athletics, the JAAA has revised the selection criteria to bring it in line with the current restrictions. A further review of the JAAA selection criteria will be done in September 2024 and released thereafter.”

The Jamaican track and field team to the Paris Olympic Games will be selected based on the results of the Jamaican National Senior Championships that will be held at the National Stadium from June 27-30 for the track and field portion of the Olympic Games, set to be held August 1-11.

With the exception of athletes who are injured and have been granted a medical exemption, the document said, all athletes must show up at the event to be considered for selection.

However, athletes must be in the top three in the world to be eligible for a medical exemption, it was also pointed out.

To be considered for the relay teams, the JAAA said, “Athletes placing in the first three positions in the 100m and 400m will be named to the relay pool. The remaining members of the relay pool will be selected by the JAAA Selection Committee,” adding “As mandated by World Athletics, athletes who are selected to run individual 100m/400m are required members of the relay pool.”

The document went on to say further, “It is a condition for selection that the athletes selected for the relay pool should make themselves available when required for relay practice. Athletes who fail to make themselves available may not be allowed to participate in the competition.”

The change comes after several issues in the past relating to relay selection, with the most recent incident taking place at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, involving sprinter Tyquendo Tracey who was left fuming following his non-selection for the 4x100m heats, after finishing fifth at Trials.

Meanwhile, the JAAA has also stated that no more than five “quota athletes” would be included in the team, and also outlined the bases on which they would be considered.

Each country is allowed a maximum of three athletes per individual event, and there is a set number of athletes per event that will take part in the Olympics.

If there are not enough athletes with the qualifying standard to fill the quota then the organisers of the event, in this case World Athletics, will invite the next best performers — if their countries have not filled out their quotas already.

Last year Jamaica included a number of quota athletes in the team to the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, including female hammer thrower Nayoka Clunis, high jumpers Romaine Beckford and Kimberly Williamson, but others were also left off.

According to the document, “Quota Athletes: Selection of athletes who qualify via quota is entirely the discretion of the JAAA. If quota athletes are selected it will be up to a maximum of 5 (five) and based on criteria which will include the following:

(a) The development goals for the JAAA across many disciplines

(b) The world ranking of the individual

(c) Prior performance of the athletes involved

(d) The development stage of the athletes

(e) Based on the final placing of the athletes at the National Championships. The national champion in their event may be given greater consideration.