KINGSTON, Jamaica – Jamaica will not be represented in the men’s 4x400m at the upcoming Paris Olympics after failing in their final bid to make it into the top 16 in the world on Sunday.

The team of Reheem Hayles, JeVaughn Powell, Kimar Farquharson and Tarees Rhoden, competing against a Barbados team and an international quartet, ran a courageous 2:59.75 at the NACAC New Life Invitational held in Nassau, Bahamas, but failed to run faster than the 2:59.12 seconds set by Zambia in March.

The Jamaicans were making their third attempt to get into the top 16 after two failures at the World Athletics Relays, also held in the Bahamas, in early May. At that even, they were third in their first round heat when the top two teams would have qualified and then were fifth in the second qualifying run.

Fourteen teams qualified from the World Relays with the next best two teams, based on times run during the qualifying window, being added.

France, after running 2:58.46 last year, is among the next best two teams along with Zambia who are qualified so far with the window set to close on June 30.

It will be the first time Jamaica has failed to qualify for the men’s 4x400m at any major championships in decades.
-Paul A Reid