Sprinters Rohan Watson and Nishion Ebanks and jumpers Jordan Scott, Romaine Beckford and Raymond Richards will seek to start Jamaica’s medal rush as the World Athletics Indoor Championships gets underway in Nanjing, China, tonight (Jamaica time).

All three rounds of the men’s 60m are to be contested on the opening day with Watson and Ebanks set to line up for Jamaica.

Scott is to contest the men’s triple jump in the first session, while Olympic finalist Romaine Beckford and Raymond Richards are to take part in the men’s high jump in the second session.

Rusheen McDonald, who won the bronze in the men’s 400m last year in Glasgow, Scotland; Leah Anderson and Joanne Reid in the women’s 400m; and women’s shot putter Lloydricia Cameron are the other Jamaicans down to compete on the opening day.

Jamaica won three medals at each of the last two stagings of the indoor championships. The island nation claimed three bronze medals last year in Glasgow, and a gold and two bronze at the 2023 edition in Belgrade, Serbia.

Watson, the national 100m champion in 2023, is ranked eighth in the world in the 60m with a personal best 6.50 seconds which he ran at G C Foster College on March 1. Ebanks is ranked further down in 24th place.

They will hope to emulate Ackeem Blake’s third place in Glasgow last year.

Scott is the fifth ranked men’s indoor triple jumper so far this season with a personal best 17.14m. He will hope to at least qualify for the finals at a major senior championships for the first time.

Beckford, a two-time NCAA Indoor champion, is arguably a medal contender, despite a best of 2.20m this year, but he will be facing a strong field.

Richards has cleared 2.31m already but his height will not be recognised by World Athletics as that performance came at an event that was not on the list of ‘approved’ meets given he was the only competitor. Under World Athletics rules it was an ‘exhibition’ and not a competition.

McDonald was a surprise bronze medallist last year. With a season’s best 46.93, it is expected that he will have to run much faster to get to the finals set for the second day.

Anderson has the fourth fastest time going into the women’s 400m after running a personal best 51.27 this year. Reid, who is one of several US college student/athletes on the team, is ranked ninth overall.

Cameron will face one of the toughest fields in the entire championships, with the likes of Jessica Schilder of the Netherlands, Sarah Mitton of Canada, and Chase Jackson of the United States expected to battle for the medals.

Lloydricia Cameron of Jamaica competes in the women’s shot put during the Olympic Games at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis on Thursday, August 8, 2024. (Photo: Naphtali Junior)