Up to late last night in Birmingham, officials from the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association’s (JAAA) management team were awaiting clearance from the Commonwealth Games Federation for sprinter Briana Williams who is being drafted as a replacement for Kemba Nelson.

Nelson will likely miss the championships, adding further challenges for the JAAA’s management team, but up to 9:00 pm in England last night, Team Manager Ludlow Watts was still consulting with Games officials, with Williams ready and waiting to board a flight to England once the green light was given.

Williams was originally not expected to compete at the Games, which will see track and field action beginning tomorrow at Alexander Stadium. However, Nelson’s unavailability has forced the management team here to move to get the Olympic relay gold medal winner on the team.

According to information reaching the Jamaica Observer, Williams originally did not indicate her availability for the Commonwealth Games.

After it was revealed a few days ago that a Jamaican athlete had tested positive for COVID-19 and was in isolation in Birmingham, news has surfaced that a second athlete has failed the arrival test.

Meanwhile, Team Manager Ludlow Watts confirmed that Fedrick Dacres, the 2019 World Championships discus silver medallist, will not be able to compete at the Games.

There were doubts around Dacres’ eligibility after he was left off the final list of entries for the event, but he subsequently appeared to be listed to compete here.

“He [Dacres] is on some start list, so I’m going to actually deal with the matter now, and once that is confirmed [that he is able to compete here] we are going to do everything to get him flown in immediately,” Watts said on Saturday.

He, however, told the Jamaica Observer yesterday that his checks showed that Dacres was, in fact, not registered to compete here.