KINGSTON, Jamaica — President of the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA), Garth Gayle, says the association’s doors are wide open, after World Athletics rejected requests from four Jamaican athletes to switch allegiance to Turkey.

Olympic Games medallists Roje Stona, Wayne Pinnock and Rajindra Campbell, as well as World Under-20 triple jump record holder Jaydon Hibbert, were part of a group of 11 athletes who were in the process of transferring national allegiance to the European country. Their application to transfer to Turkey was, however, rejected by the World Athletics’ Nationality Review Panel on Thursday.

“We hold no grudges, our doors are wide open,” Gayle said, hinting that the track and field federation would not try to prevent the reintegration of the athletes. “We are all Jamaicans and once they are in good standing.”

Gayle, who said the JAAA would be releasing a statement later in the day, told Observer Online that it was not the first time that athletes had started the process to change nationality and had changed their minds.

The JAAA boss also pointed out that it was not just Jamaica that had voiced their issues with other countries trying to recruit their athletes.

READ: World Athletics rejects transfer of Jamaican quartet to Turkey

— Paul A Reid