President of the Jamaica Bobsled and Skeleton Federation (JBSF) Chris Stokes says the organisation has been encouraged by the response to its ongoing recruitment drive, with the goal being to add to its ranks ahead of the 2022 Beijing Games.
At current, the women’s team is represented by Olympians Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian, former track athletes Carrie Russell and Audra Segree.
However, with the world still in the midst of the pandemic, heading into a long gruelling season and Olympic qualifiers on the horizon Stokes points out that the goal is to build a deep squad.
“Both Carrie as a pilot and Jazmine as a pilot have to race both in the mono bob and the two-man bob that’s just how the qualification process is set up. So that means that each will have to have a brake woman and as of now, outside of Audra Segree, we have not identified that quality athlete yet,” Stokes told SportsMax.TV.
“It’s also a long season, we may not want to race, for example, Audra in every single race. We might need to rest her from time to time, in which case we need a deep bench,” he added.
The first viewing of potential recruits, in Jamaica, took place last week with another viewing scheduled for Friday. Athletes making the cut are expected to be selected on Saturday.
“The response has been good so far. Interestingly, quite a bit of response from overseas and a lot of athletes locally. There is some trepidation you can understand. It is a rough sport, it can be a dangerous sport. People get beat up, Carrie has some scars on her shoulder from a crash. You can’t make it seem easier than it is, but at the same time, it’s a fun sport. There is the opportunity to go to the Olympics and be part of one of the premier sports brands in the world.”
Jamaica's 4x400m women, T&T's men book tickets to Paris
Jamaica’s 4x400m women have also booked their place at the Olympic Games in Paris this summer by winning the second round heat at the World Relays in the Bahamas on Sunday. The same four women lined up for the heat with the difference being that Roneisha McGregor running the lead off leg, Charokee Young on the second leg, Ashley Williams on the third leg and Junelle Bromfield on anchor.
The changes proved effective as the Jamaicans ran away with the heat winning impressively in 3:38.54.
India is also on their way to Paris after they finished in second place in a time of 3:29.35.
The Netherlands (3:27.45) and Switzerland (3:28.30) are also through along with Belgium (3:26.79) and Spain (3:27.30), a national record.
Meanwhile, Jamaica’s men will have to find another route to Paris after finished fifth in their heat and failed to qualify.
Trinidad and Tobago, though, produced a brave performance to secure a place in Paris. The quartet of Asa Guevara, Jereem Richards, Che Lara and Shakeem McKay battled hard to hold off France and seal the the final qualifying spot. Brazil won the heat in 3:01.86 with the brave Trinidadians finishing in 3:02.39.
Jamaica and Trinidad women shine to book 4x100m relay spots in Paris
Jamaica continued their resurgence from a disappointing first day at the World Relays in the Bahamas when they won their heat in round two of the 4x100m relays to advance to book their tickets to Paris this summer.
Using the same foursome – Jodean Smith, Tia Clayton, Alana Reid and Remona Burchell - that ran on Saturday, changed their running order with Burchell and Reid – switching positions on the third and fourth legs.
The change worked like a charm as they sped to victory in 42.74 seconds to advance to the final and onto Paris.
Jamaica’s Caribbean neighbours, Trinidad and Tobago will also be in Paris this summer. The quartet of Taejha Badal, Reese Webster, Reyare Thomas and Leah Bertrand finished second in 43.54 to advance as automatic qualifiers to the Olympic Games.
Italy, who won the first heat in 42.60 and second-place finishers Côte d'Ivoire (42.63) as well as Nigeria (42.71), winners of heat three and Switzerland (42.75) are also off to the Olympic Games.
The Bahamas and Jamaica book 4x400m Mixed Relay spots in Paris
The Bahamas and Jamaica rebounded at the World Athletics Relays in the Bahamas, securing their places at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris this summer during round two of the 4x400m mixed relay heats on Sunday.
After a disappointing performance on Saturday, the Bahamas bounced back with a spectacular showing on Sunday, setting a world-leading time of 3:12.81 in the first heat. The Bahamian quartet of Steven Gardiner, Alonzo Russell, Shania Adderley, and Shaunae Miller-Uibo delivered a stellar performance, fending off tough competition from Jamaica, Japan and South Africa, to clinch victory and set a new national record in the process.
Jamaica also sealed their Olympic berth by finishing second in the heat with a time of 3:14.49, showcasing their strength in relay events with the quartet of Zandrian Barnes, Roshawn Clarke, Leah Anderson, and Janieve Russell.
In the subsequent heats, Germany emerged victorious in the second heat with a time of 3:13.85, securing their place in Paris. Switzerland also booked their Olympic spot by finishing closely behind Germany in a national record time of 3:14.12.
Great Britain and Northern Ireland secured their tickets to Paris by winning the third heat with a time of 3:12.99, followed closely by Ukraine in 3:14.49, earning the second qualifying spot from that heat.
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