The Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) has not given up on getting the Jamaican men’s 4x400m team qualified for the Paris Olympic Games after they failed to do so at last weekend’s World Athletics Relays held at the Thomas A Robinson stadium in Nassau, Bahamas.

Four of the five Jamaican teams have booked their spots to the Olympics: the men’s and women’s 4x100m, as well as the women’s 4x400m and the mixed 4x400m relays are all through. But the men’s relay team will have to wait and see.

The World Athletics Relays was used for the first time to qualify teams directly to this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris, where 14 of the 16 spots would be decided. The other two places are reserved for the top two highest-ranked teams — based on times — that had not qualified when the qualifying period ends on June 30 2024.

While the Jamaica Observer’s efforts to contact JAAA President Garth Gayle between Tuesday and Wednesday were fruitless, a source close to the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the JAAA is “exploring all possibilities to ensure that the men’s 4x400m team get the opportunity to qualify”.

A JAAA board meeting is set for next Tuesday when talks to possibly host a track meet in Jamaica to facilitate a relay race are expected. But the source questioned whether the best men’s 400m runners would be available, given that many did not feature the World Relays.

“If the coaches did not make their athletes available for the World Relays, why do we think they will release them for another race?” the source asked.

The Jamaican men’s 4x400m team just missed qualifying on Saturday’s first day in the Bahamas, finishing third in 3:02.46 minutes, behind Belgium (3:00.09) and Nigeria (3:01.70).

The Observer learned that Jamaica almost missed the second round on Sunday due to injuries, barely finding four runners including lead-off man Rusheen McDonald whom it is said ran despite an injury. The team finished fifth in 3:05.09 .

That has left Jamaica in a precarious position, ranked third among the non-automatic qualifiers with a best time of 2:59.34 which was set last year at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. The Jamaicans are behind France’s 2:58.45 and Zambia’s 2:59.12.

Putting on a track meet to accommodate the race would require a lot of resources, a source told the Observer, least of which would require the participation of two other national teams.

For Jamaica to host such a race, the JAAA would first need to get permission from World Athletics, the source said. The global body would be required to send an official who would ensure that standard guidelines are met.

Meanwhile, the JAAA issued a statement on Wednesday asking for time to get reports to explain the country’s below-par performance at the World Athletics Relays, noting the team was “plagued with withdrawals”.

The release noted: “We share the consternation of the Jamaican track and field supporters at the showing of our athletes at the recently concluded World Athletics Relays in the Bahamas.

“As is the norm, prior to selection, athletes, coaches and agents were contacted with a deadline date regarding their availability. This is then passed to the selection committee,” it said. “After selection and team entry, we were plagued with withdrawals and had to continue with those available.”

The release added: “[There were] challenges which impacted our usual stellar performance. We cannot, however, speak specifically to these, until we receive the reports from the management team including medical and technical who were on the ground.”

While the men’s 4x100m team booked their place in Paris at the first time of asking, finishing second in their first-round qualifying heat on Saturday in 38.50 seconds behind Canada, the other three teams had to wait for the second qualifying round on day two.

On Sunday, the women’s 4x100m won their heat in 42.74, better than the 43.33 they ran for fifth on Saturday. The women’s 4x400m relay athletes also won their heat with 3:28.54, better than the 3:29.03 they ran a day earlier. The mixed 4x400m team finished second in 3:14.49, just better than the 3:14.83 for third on the first day behind the Netherlands who ran a then Championships record 3:12.16 and the Dominican Republic who were second with 3:14.39.