Jamaica’s men’s 4x100m relay team endured another heartbreaking night at the World Athletics Relays in China as injury woes struck again. This time ending their hopes of automatic qualification for the Tokyo World Championships.
Caribbean sprint star Julian Forte, after a baton mishap with Yohan Blake, pulled his hamstring on the disastrous second day. The sprinter tumbled to the track before he could hand over to Blake, abruptly ending Jamaica’s race and their dreams of direct qualification.
The race had started promisingly for the Jamaicans, with Rohan Watson getting them out of the blocks cleanly and smoothly passing the baton to Forte. But as Forte powered down the back stretch, he grimaced in pain and began to limp, desperately trying to reach Blake. Before any exchange could happen, Forte collapsed to the track, leaving the team disqualified and dejected.
This latest setback marks a second consecutive relay failure for Jamaica’s in what proving to be a World Relays campaign to forget. To compound their woes, it means Kishane Thompson, the Olympic 100m silver medallist, never even got a chance to touch the baton in either race.
Fourteen teams have already sealed their World Championships spots, leaving only two qualifying slots open through the world rankings system. Jamaica, once a dominant force in global sprint relays, now faces an anxious wait to see if their current ranking will be enough to secure them a place in Tokyo.
Meanwhile, there was cause for celebration elsewhere on the track as Kenya, led by Africa’s fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala, achieved historic qualification for the World Championships.
The top 14 nations per relay at World Relays qualified for the World Championships set for 13–21 September 2025 in Tokyo. World rankings will award the last two relay spots for the World Championships later this summer.
