Grenada’s Kirani James, Christopher Taylor and Nathon Allen of Jamaica as well as Johnathan Jones of Barbados all advanced to the semi-finals of the 400m at Sunday’s third day of the 2022 World Athletics Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

However, it was a bittersweet morning session for the Caribbean quarter-milers as Jamaican champion Juvaughn Powell and Dwight St Hillaire of Trinidad and Tobago both crashed out finishing fourth and sixth, respectively in their respective heats. Their times were not good enough to be among the six fastest losers who advance.

With the top three finishers in each heat automatically qualifying for the next round, James, the fastest qualifier from the Caribbean, finished second in 45.29 with Allen in third in 45.61 in the penultimate of the six heats that was won by Botswana’s Boyapo Ndori in a personal best 44.87.

Taylor was also second in his heat, running 45.68, to finish behind gold-medal favourite Michael Norman who cruised to 45.37.

Jones took second in the opening heat won by world-record holder Wayde van Niekerk in 45.18. The Barbadian, who ran impressively during the NCAA season, ran 45.46 to be among the automatic qualifiers.

Also advancing was Mixed Relay gold medallist Lidio Andres Feliz from the Dominican Republic, who was third in the final heat in 45.87.

Rana Reider, the head coach at Florida-based Tumbleweed training group, has been warned and ejected from the 2022 World Athletics Championships after gaining ‘unauthorized access’, according to media reports.

Charokee Young, the 2022 NCAA 400m silver medalist is the latest Jamaican to go pro after signing a professional contract with Puma. Young, the fastest Jamaican woman in the world this year at 49.87, made the announcement on the Puma Performance Instagram page Friday.

“So blessed to announce that I am the newest member of the Puma family,” said Young, who just completed her sophomore year at Texas A&M University, is making her first appearance in an individual event at a global championship after finishing third at Jamaica’s national championships. She was a member of Jamaica's bronze-medal-winning team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in Japan.

On Thursday, five-time Olympic gold medalist Elaine Thompson-Herah announced that she is now a member of the Puma family after breaking ties with Nike.

Kemba Nelson, the NCAA 100m silver medalist, and who was third at Jamaica’s national championships in June, also signed with Puma in recent days.

Weeks of speculation ended today when Puma announced the signing of five-time Olympic gold medalist Elaine Thompson-Herah.

All but five of Jamaica’s athletes are in camp 48 hours ahead of the start of the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon. One of those athletes will not be joining the team, Sportsmax.TV has learnt.

Meanwhile, Tokyo Olympic 110m hurdles champion Hansle Parchment and Tokyo Olympics 400m finalist Stephenie-Ann McPherson have been named team captains as the athletes look forward to getting into action on Friday.

Of the 64-member team selected by the Jamaica Administrative Athletics Association to represent the country at the Championships set to run from July 15-24, quarter-miler Gregory Prince, 100m sprinter Jelani Walker, discus thrower Chad Wright as well as long jumper Chanice Porter and 800m runner Chris-Ann Gordon-Powell have not yet arrived in the athletes’ village.

Media liaison Dennis Gordon revealed that Prince received his US visa on Tuesday and is expected to arrive in Oregon by either late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning.

Walker’s situation is more concerning as the athlete has tested positive for Covid-19 and has been advised to remain away from the camp until he is advised by the medical team.

Chad Wright, Gordon explained, will not be joining the team because of “visa issues”.

As it relates to Porter and Gordon-Powell, the team’s technical leader, Maurice Wilson, at the request of their agent Claude Bryan, has granted permission both to join the camp on July 15.

Otherwise, Gordon said, all the other athletes are in camp and are said to be in high spirits ahead of the start of the competition, welcome news against the background of some challenges the delegation faced over the past few days.

Flight cancellations delayed the arrival of some athletes to the pre-camp late last week before the athletes moved into the village on July 10.

There were also issues with delays in accrediting some athletes because of matters relating to their Covid-19 status, Gordon confirmed.

He explained that some of the athletes faced issues with uploading forms issued electronically by World Athletics, that required information on athletes’ vaccination status. This was confirmed by some coaches who spoke with Sportsmax.TV earlier this week.

However, that matter has now been resolved and all athletes have now been accredited, Gordon said.

Another relatively minor issue that athletes faced was with the rooms to which they were assigned. Gordon explained that a list was created assigning athletes to specific rooms.

However, some of the athletes had preferences about whom they wanted to room with and as such when some athletes reported to the rooms to which they were assigned, they found there was another athlete already occupying what should have been their space.

That situation has also now been resolved, Gordon assured.

Several athletes who spoke with Sportsmax.TV confirmed that they are now settled.

 “For the most part, people seem to be okay. I haven’t heard any complaints really,” one athlete, who wanted to remain unidentified said.

“The rooms are dorms, and that was expected seeing that we are on a campus.”

Jamaica’s men 400m runners will be among the first to get into action on Friday morning in the 4x400m heats after which the preliminary round of the men’s 100m will get underway.

The heats of the men’s 100m will get underway in the afternoon session on Friday with the mixed relays finals scheduled to close out the day.

Chantel Malone, the best long jumper from the British Virgin Islands, will miss the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon because of a long-running knee injury.

Tokyo Olympic 200m finalists Shaunae Miller-Uibo and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce go head to head in the 200m at the Diamond League Meeting in Eugene, Oregon on Saturday in what promises to be an epic clash that will also feature World Indoor 60m champion Mujinga Kambudji.

Olympic gold medalist Briana Williams is aiming for a brand new personal best when she lines up against the world’s fastest women over 100m at the Prefontaine Classic Diamond League meeting at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon on Saturday.

Elaine Thompson-Herah, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic triple gold medalist, will take on American upstart Sha ‘Carri Richardson and a stacked field that includes the Olympic 100m silver and bronze medalists Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson, respectively, in a blue-ribbon showdown at the Prefontaine Classic Diamond League meet on Saturday, August 21 in Eugene, Oregon.

Thompson-Herah, who won the 100/200m double at the 2016 Rio Olympics, created history in Tokyo earlier this month when she became the first woman to successfully defend both titles at the same Olympics.

She won the 100m in an Olympic record of 10.61, eclipsing the 10.62 set by Florence Griffith-Joyner at Seoul in 1988 and followed up by winning the 200m in a personal best of 21.53, which made her the second-fastest woman in history.

She then added a third gold medal as a member of Jamaica’s 4x100m sprint relay team that established a new national record of 41.02.

The 21-year-old Richardson, who ran a personal best 10.72 in April, won the 100m at US trials in July in 10.86. However, she was subsequently banned for a month after testing positive for THC, a derivative of marijuana. Her omission triggered a debate about whether she would have won had she been allowed to compete in Tokyo.

However, the much-touted American will not only be facing the Olympic champion in the blue-ribbon sprint. She is also facing a motivated Fraser-Pryce, the second-fastest woman in the world this year and the third fastest all time, who is likely to be still smarting from her loss in the Olympic 100m final.

The 34-year-old two-time Olympic champion (2008, 2012) was considered the overwhelming favourite to land a third 100m Olympic title following her 10.63s run at the National Stadium in Kingston on June 5. However, she finished second to Thompson-Herah in 10.74.

The Olympic 100m bronze medalist Jackson, who ran a personal best 10.76 in Tokyo, has also been included in the line-up that will also feature, Tokyo relay gold medalist Briana Williams (10.97), Teahna Daniels (10.98), Javiane Oliver (10.96) and Marie Josee Ta Lou of the Ivory Coast, who ran a personal best 10.78 in Tokyo.

Switzerland’s Mujinga Kambundji who has run a season-best 10.96, is also listed for the clash that is perhaps the fastest field ever assembled.

Texas A&M’s Charokee Young plans to arrive at Jamaica’s national championships next week refreshed and ready to secure a spot on Jamaica’s team to the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.

Texas A&M’s Lamara Distin, fresh from her silver medal performance in the high jump at last weekend’s NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships, is targeting the Olympic standard of 1.96m when she competes at the Jamaica National Championships beginning June 26.