Although there are no major international athletics championships next year, Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) President Christopher Samuda believes Jamaica’s top athletes should seize the chance to compete at the Commonwealth Games and the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games.

The 2026 season will be the first in several years that the athletics calendar will not have a major global competition. The Olympic Games were staged in 2021 and 2024, while the World Athletics Championships were held in 2022, 2023 and 2025.

There’s a recurring view from coaches, athletes, and pundits that 2026 will be a ‘year off’ for the athletes who are in need of rest and recovery after five consecutive years of high-level competition.

However, though not regarded as a major championship, the 23rd staging of the Commonwealth Games will be held in Scotland from July 22 to August 2 while the CAC Games will take place in the Dominican Republic from July 24 to August 8.

Jamaica has consistently participated in these two competitions, but in recent editions majority of the top stars have opted not to compete.

The JOA will have oversight of the Jamaican delegations to the Commonwealth Games and CAC Games and Samuda says they intend to take it very seriously.

“Each game we treat as a product which has its own value and which has its own impact and, therefore, next year when the Commonwealth Games will be staged as well as the CAC games, we individualise the value of each and we don’t treat any as being different in terms of impact from others,” he told the
Jamaica Observer.

While appreciating the hectic schedule athletes have faced, Samuda believes the competitions should be prioritised due to the uncertain nature of their careers.

“Yes, there practically will be a view in terms of your own schedule for the next year as to which games you will attend and whether it is part and parcel of the development initiative that both yourself and your coach have worked out,” he said.

“But each is an asset and we have common rules that we apply in terms of each games, so we encourage every athlete to seize every opportunity to represent your country at the Commonwealth Games and the CAC Games because you do not know if tomorrow you would be disabled with an injury to the extent that your career comes regrettably to an end.”

Samuda believes that national pride should be a major factor in athletes’ decision to participate in these games.

“Your country, your school, your coach, your family has given you the opportunity to excel in a particular sport and, therefore, you must, as it were, give back to your country, and you do so by representing your country on every opportunity that you get in order to showcase not only your talent but also to demonstrate that you’re a part of a local asset which has a regional and international impact which we call sport in Jamaica,” he said.

“So we deliver games with equal regulations and with equal policy objectives to ensure that athletes understand that every opportunity that presents itself to you, you must seize because that is part of your self-development.”

In athletics Jamaica secured 13 medals, including six gold, at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and won seven medals, including one gold, at the 2023 CAC Games in El Salvador.

Double Commonwealth Games gold medallist Elaine Thompson-Herah and Jamaica Olympic Association President Christopher Samuda share a moment at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.

Shanieka Ricketts of Jamaica celebrates after winning gold in the women’s triple jump during the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, on August 5, 2022. (Photo: Naphtali Junior)

Jamaica’s Tarees Rhoden (right) competes in the men’s 800m final during the CAC Games in El Salvador on July 5, 2023. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)