Four of five medallists back from last year’s World Champs
Four of the five individual medallists from last year’s team to the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, United States, have been named in the Jamaican team to compete at the 2023 edition in Budapest, Hungary, starting this weekend.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson, defending champions in the respective women’s 100m and 200m events, and both of whom won two individual medals each, are set to be back in the hunt.
Also to feature are Elaine Thompson-Herah, who took bronze in the women’s 100m, and Shanieka Ricketts, the silver medallist in the women’s triple jump.
Three of the four — Thompson-Herah the exception — are down to compete in individual events.
Britany Anderson, the 100m hurdles silver medallist in Eugene, was ruled out for the season after an injury earlier this year.
As usual, fans will be expecting big performances from the Jamaican team that will see 65 athletes taking part in the nine-day championships. That number is five more than last year when Jamaica won 10 medals, including two gold, seven silver, and a bronze.
The team that was named in a first-ever press conference by the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) for that purpose, includes 27 athletes — 17 men and 10 women — who were not in the team to Eugene last year.
Among the newcomers on the men’s side are triple jump gold medal favourite Jaydon Hibbert and 400m hurdles medal favourite Roshawn Clarke. All four men named in the 400m pool — Sean Bailey, Antonio Watson, Zandrion Barnes, and Rusheen McDonald — are also credible medal contenders.
On the women’s side, sprinter Natasha Morrison and Ronda Whyte, who is named in the 400m relay pool, return, while hurdlers Ackera Nugent and Andrenette Knight, who could both medal, are on the team.