JAMAICA’S interest in the Pan-American Games currently going on in Toronto, Canada is expected to increase with the start of track and field athletics at CIBC Pan Am/Parapan Am Athletics Stadium starting this weekend.

However, the first Jamaican athletes will not get on the track until Tuesday after the women’s marathon today and the men’s and women’s 20K race walk on Sunday.

Meanwhile the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) has confirmed the withdrawal of seven athletes from the track and field team because of “oversubscription” a release said last week.

The organisers had to resort to qualifying marks, the JOA release said, as the entries had exceeded the 680 athletes’ quota by 50 per cent.

The athletes who were removed from the list are- Tanya Sue Barnett, Natalie Grant, Kay-Marie Jones, Devene Brown, Clayton Brown, Damon McLean and Jonathan Reid, the release said.

One other athlete Jonia McDonald who was originally named as the eighth to be removed was retained however after it was discovered that he had infact made the qualifying standard.

In response to a question from the Jamaica Observer, Christopher Samuda the general secretary of the JOA, said in an email, “at the time the decision was made, none of the athletes had arrived in Canada and I have been informed that the track and field contingent will be arriving this week.”

Up to press time last night, Jamaica had not won any medals in any of the events they had taken part in, but short course world record holder Alia Atkinson had qualified for the finals of the women’s 100m breaststroke, the event she placed fourth in at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Atkinson qualified for her second final of the week after placing second in her first round heat in 1minute 07.46 seconds, third best of the morning, behind Canada’s Rachel Nicol, who swam 1minute 07.10 seconds to win the heat.

Timothy Wynter was fifth in his heat of the men’s 100m backstroke in 57.86 seconds and qualified for the B Finals while Trudian Patrick took third on her women’s 50m freestyle heat in 27.99 seconds but failed to advance.

Dwayne Ford finished second to last in the men’s 50m rifle prone shooting event, tallying 577.8 points, managing just two rounds over 98.0 in his six rounds.

In the men’s individual stroke play golf event, Ian Facey failed to improve on Thursday’s five over par 77 score when he cared an eight over par 80 on Friday’s second day for a two day 13 over par 157 for 29th place of the 32 players in the field.

On Friday, Facey managed just two birdies but had five bogies and two double bogies to be 22 strokes off the lead held by Chile’s Felipe Aguilar on a two day total of eight under par 136.

–Paul Reid