JAMAICA Athletics Administrative Association Technical Leader David Riley says members of the World Athletics Under-20 Championships team underwent mental preparation during its camps.

A 43-member team was named last week to compete at the championships, and Riley told the Sunday Observer efforts were made to ensure the athletes were ready both physically and mentally.

The championships, in Lima, Peru, from August 27 to 31, are being held later than usual and almost two months after the national championships were held in late June.

“We have been working on their mental preparation through the various camps that have been staged so far and we are pleased with where they are right now,” Riley told the Observer.

“The team is as strong as we could have. Our athletes are highly ranked with their season’s bests — in many cases those performances were achieved earlier in the year.”

Jamaica will not be the only country at a disadvantage with the late staging of the championships.

“We recognise that all competitors have the same challenge of the long season, and we have been discussing this for a while now with the athletes and their coaches.”

Three athletes who had won their events at the national championships will not be in Lima for various reasons. These are World Under-20 triple jump record holder Jaydon Hibbert, as well as 200m/400 runner Skyler Francis, and long jumper Alliyah Foster, who all ranked highly in their events. But Riley said despite this, “The athletes are poised and the level of enthusiasm is high, with a lot of focus on delivering their best performance in Peru.”