WATCH: JAAA confirms Clayton’s withdrawal from World Championships due to injury
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Ian Forbes, manager of team Jamaica at the 2025 Tokyo World Athletics Championships and first vice president of the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA), has confirmed that hurdler Rushell Clayton is out of the championships due to injury.
“I can confirm that Ms Rochelle Clayton has been withdrawn due to injury,” Forbes said in an interview with Observer Online.
Clayton, who won bronze medals in the 400m hurdles at the 2019 and 2023 World Championships in Doha and Budapest, respectively, has been struggling with a leg injury this season.
It was expected that Sanique Walker, who was named as an alternate on Jamaica’s team for the women’s 400m hurdles, would replace her, however, Forbes said that due to logistical issues, that will not be possible.
READ: Rushell Clayton out of Worlds with injury
In the meantime, Forbes shared that the team is taking the necessary steps to address concerns surrounding the heat. Among the steps outlined by Forbes is proper hydration.
“Well, the heat has been a factor. It’s pretty hot. It’s been pretty hot. But of course, one has to take the necessary steps to mitigate that. Of course, hydration is one of those. With respect to the accommodations, of course, the ‘village’ is really a hotel, a top-class hotel with requisite air conditioning and other amenities to make it as comfortable as possible. For the athletes, of course, there is rehydration, fluid and lots of water as well. So one just has to plan properly and adhere to the protocols with respect to hydration. And we did also hear some teams complaining about the distance between the warm-up track and the stadium itself,” he said.
On the matter of athletes switching allegiance, Forbes said he expects that the JAAA will raise the issue at Congress.
“I am pretty certain that will be raised by the JAAAs. I’m not necessarily attending Congress, but our representatives certainly will take that up at Congress. I think a number of them [countries] are incensed, particularly those who would have been impacted, let’s say, in a negative way. So I think there will be support for that position. And I think it’s really time to take a critical look at the whole scenario surrounding transfers and allegiance etc. You would have seen how things operate in football — it’s quite different — and I think that’s the direction in which we should be going,” Forbes said.
