Why is Jamaica’s men’s 4x100m relay team competing at London Diamond League? Reason behind their participation explained

The London Diamond League on Saturday, July 19, will see the Jamaican 4x100m men's relay team compete in the Non-Diamond relay event. Notably, the side is looking to earn qualification for the World Championships in Tokyo through this event.

The World event is set to take place in September, where Jamaica's men's and women's 4x400m relay teams have already qualified. However, the men's 4x100m side is still in search of a world ranking run time to book its berth at the Tokyo event.

This situation occurred following Jamaica's disappointing campaign at the World Relays, where the 4x100m team couldn't finish the race after the baton was dropped by Julian Forte while trying to pass it to Yohan Blake. Now, Jamaica's hopes will rely on the London Diamond League to clock a run time less than 38.15 seconds.

Owing to this, 100m specialist Kishane Thompson, who is also the world lead holder of the season (9.75 seconds), has been added to the team for the 4x100m race on Saturday. Oblique Seville, second to Thompson in the world lead list, will also be in the team in what will possibly be one of their last attempts to qualify for the World Championships and join the likes of the United States and South Africa. Other members of the team include Kadrian Goldson and Rohan Watson.

Jamaica will be lining up against other top teams, such as the Netherlands, Great Britain's two teams, and Poland, etc, on Saturday at the London Diamond League.

Jamaica's MVP Track and Field Club's President shares whether the men's 4x100m relay team can qualify for Worlds at the London Diamond League

MVP Track and Club's president, Bruce James, recently shared why he is confident that the Jamaican 4x100m relay team will earn its World Championships qualification at the 2025 London Diamond League.

James shared that the Jamaican team that ran the World Championships in Budapest a couple of years ago clocked 37.68 seconds, and now, with fast runners such as Kishane Thompson, the team can match the required time to qualify for the Worlds. He said (via Jamaican Gleaner):

"In 2023, we had a team of Ackeem Blake, Oblique Seville, Ryiem Forde, and Rohan Watson that ran 37.68s in Budapest. The Jamaica team for this Saturday’s Diamond League in London will see Kishane Thompson, who has a season and world best of 9.75, replacing Forde. With decent passes and their combined flat speed, they should secure Jamaica’s 4x100m relay qualification for the Tokyo World Championships."

Notably, Ackeem Blake, who was also set to participate in the 4x100m relay event at the London Diamond League, has withdrawn from the event and will be replaced by Kadrian Goldson.

Edited by Tushar Bahl