Jamaica left Eugene, the host city of the 2022 World Athletics Championships, with 10 medals; 2 gold, 7 silver and a bronze and, 2 national records. Led by a sensational team of female sprinters, the national team finished with a flourish. 100m hurdler Britany Anderson and both 4x400m relay groups raced their way to silver medals.

Jamaican women celebrating after claiming 1-2-3 in the 100m, WCHOregon22

Jamaican women celebrating after claiming 1-2-3 in the 100m, WCHOregon22

The tone had been set by Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Shericka Jackson and Elaine Thompson-Herah who took gold, silver and bronze in the 100m on the first weekend of the Championships. Shanieka Ricketts banished the foul trouble she had at last year’s Olympics by bounding 14.89m in the first round of the triple jump final and that held up for second behind all-conquering Venezuelan, Yulimar Rojas.

For the first time, there were three Jamaicans in that final as Ricketts had company from Kimberly Williams and Ackelia Smith.

The first Jamaican record of the Championships came in the women’s 200m as Jackson sliced through the field in 21.45 seconds, 0.08 faster than Thompson-Herah’s winning time at the Olympics. Fraser-Pryce held off Britain’s defending champion Dina Asher-Smith, 21.81 to 22.02 seconds, to secure the silver with Thompson-Herah 7th.

That set the stage for relay glory. The men’s sprint relay team of Ackeem Blake, Yohan Blake, 100m finalist Oblique Seville and Jelani Walker produced a fourth-place time of 38.06 seconds to put Jamaica back in the World final after an absence in 2019. Canada upset the USA to win in 37.48 seconds.

Britany Anderson took to the track on the penultimate day of the Championships and, along with Olympic bronze medallist Megan Tapper and 2019 World bronze medallist Danielle Williams, she advanced to the semi-final round. In a first semi-final where Tobi Amusan of Nigeria set a world record of 12.12 seconds, Williams showed she was ready with a season’s best 12.41 seconds. Tapper ran a personal best of 12.52 in the second semi but was eliminated. Anderson ran an error-free race in the third semi-final and edged Puerto Rico’s Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, 12.31, 0.01 seconds faster than Williams’ Jamaica record to 12.32.

Amusan, whose coach is Jamaica’s 2002 Commonwealth Games winner Lacena Golding-Clarke, was even faster in the final at 12.06 seconds with Anderson just ahead of Camacho-Quinn for the silver. However, there was an aiding wind gusting above the allowable limit of 2 metres per second (+2.5), and that scuffed Amusan’s time and identical marks of 12.23 seconds for Anderson and the Puerto Rican.

Nevertheless, Anderson captured Jamaica’s 10th ever World Championships medal in the 100m hurdles, with Williams 6th.

To his credit, Dacres reached his fourth straight discus final and his training partner Traves Smikle returned to the final after placing 8th in 2017. They finished 9th and 12th in Eugene.

A gallant 6th place run by Jaheel Hyde earned him a personal best of 48.03 seconds in the 400m hurdles. Rushell Clayton was also 6th in the women’s equivalent.

All this meant that Jamaica’s men were in danger of not winning a medal for the first time in World Championship history. The danger was averted in the last men’s event of the Championship by Ackeem Bloomfield, Nathon Allen, Jevaughn Powell and 400m finalist Christopher Taylor who took the silver medals behind the USA in 2 minutes 58.58 seconds with splits of 45.86, 43.95, 44.79 and 43.98 respectively.

Minutes later, 400m finalist Candice McLeod, Janieve Russell, 400m finalist Stephennie-Ann McPherson and Charokee Young clicked off a silver medal time of 3 minutes 20.74 seconds, with splits of 50.76, 49.90, 49.95 and 50.13 respectively. That was Jamaica’s tenth medal of the championships and its tenth medal in the women’s 4x400m since the World Championships began in 1983.

The Americans won majestically in 3 minutes 17.79 seconds with a super-impressive 47.91 anchor leg split by 400m hurdles World Record holder, Sydney McLaughlin.